Boston City Council votes in favor of banning plastic carryout bags

Boston’s City Council has voted to approve a proposed ordinance intended to reduce the use of single-use plastic shopping bags at stores, restaurants and pharmacies in the city.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh must sign the proposed ordinance before it becomes law, according to a report from WCVB.  If and when he signs it, the ordinance would go into effect within a year.

The proposed ordinance unanimously approved by council would ban single-use plastic bags, while businesses would have to sell other kinds of bags for no less than 5 cents. Business would be permitted to offer reusable bags, recyclable paper bags or compostable plastic bags, according to the proposed ordinance.

WCVB reports that Boston began considering the proposed ordinance in 2016, with the city council creating a task force to evaluate residents’ thoughts on such an approach. A survey created by the task force collected 710 responses.

Of those 710 responses, WCVB reports that half said they bring their own reusable bags on shopping trips, according to city council documents. The majority of respondents also supported banning single-use plastic bags instead of charging for them.

Of the 17 businesses that participated in the survey, according to council documents, five said they were against a bag ban or fee, WCVB notes.

Under the proposed ordinance, businesses could apply for a one-year exemption, but they would be required to show that additional time was needed to use their existing bag inventories, a lack of reasonable alternatives or that the ban deprives someone of another protected right.

At least one trade organization has spoken out against the proposed ordinance. 

The Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman has issued a statement against the proposed ordinance, saying, “Dozens of communities in Massachusetts have enacted plastic bag bans in recent years, and until today, only one taxed paper bags. This undermines an environmentally responsible option for carryout shopping bags. Paper is the most-recycled material in the United States today. Last year, two-thirds of all paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling. Paper is part of the environmental solution, but Boston is treating it like the problem.”