Numerous municipalities and states across the country are either about to implement bans or taxes on single-use plastic bags or they’re considering legislation or regulations to do so.
According to www.bagtheban.com, more than two dozen communities recently enacted bans or taxes that will go into effect in 2019. Still, others are in the public comment/rule-making stage.
- In New Hampshire, lawmakers at the state level have introduced bills to ban the use of plastic bags and plastic straws across the state, while also encouraging cities and towns to enact their own similar regulations should statewide efforts falter.
- In Boston, a ban on the use of plastic bags in stores and restaurants took effect in mind-December 2018. Stores can now only give out reusable bags, recyclable paper bags, or compostable bags to customers. Customers can expect to pay at least 5-cents per bag for compostable plastic bags with handles—or they can bring their own reusable bags.
What’s Wrong with Plastic Bags?
Product packaging, especially in the form of single-use, disposable plastic bags represent a huge amount of material waste that gets disposed of annually around the world. Because plastic bags are inexpensive to produce, retailers can easily mass produce and distribute them as a convenient way for consumers to carry home their products.
Unfortunately, what’s convenient at the time soon becomes an environmental nightmare.
In most cases, when consumers get their products home or to the office, those inexpensive, convenient plastic bags get tossed into the garbage and soon wind up in landfills or dumped in the ocean. In other cases, plastic bags get discarded of improperly and they end up littering the landscape and highways. And because they are made of plastic, the bags tend not to biodegrade, which means they are with us in the environment for a long, long time.
The World Wide Fund For Nature estimates that less packaging and fewer plastic bags could reduce what ends up in landfills by around 10%. One solution is for consumers to bring their own bags to retailers in order to reduce waste.
Is Your Community On The List?
Here are recent updates on the towns and cities around the country that will be implementing bans/taxes on single-use plastic bags in 2019:
Charleston, SC
City-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: December 1, 2019
Anchorage, AK
City-wide ban on plastic bags, 10 to 50-cent tax for paper bags
Implement Date: September 15, 2019
Scituate, MA
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: September 15, 2019
Wilmington , VT
Town-wide plastic bag ban
Implement Date: July 1, 2019
Jersey City, NJ
City-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: June 27, 2019
Dartmouth, MA
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: June 5, 2019
Danvers, MA
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: June 1, 2019
Ulster County, NY
County-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: June 1, 2019
Wilmington, MA
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: May 5, 2019
Belmar, NJ
Borough-wide ban on plastic bags.
Implement Date: May 1, 2019
Camden, ME
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: April 30, 2019
Waterville, ME
City-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: April 22, 2019
Southwest Harbor, ME
Town-wide ban on plastic bags; optional fee on reusable or paper bags
Implement Date: April 22, 2019
Longmeadow, MA
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: April 16, 2019
Mount Pleasant, SC
City-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: April 10, 2019
Bedford, NY
Town-wide 10-cent fee on plastic and paper bags
Implement Date: April 1, 2019
Salem, OR
City-wide ban on plastic bags, at least 5-cent tax on paper bags
Implement Date: April 1, 2019
Providence, RI
City-wide ban on plastic bags and 10-cent tax on paper and reusable bags
Implement Date: March 15, 2019
Milwaukie, OR
City-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: March 1, 2019
Rockport, MA
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: March 1, 2019
Newcastle, ME
Town-wide ban on plastic bags
Implement Date: March 1, 2019
Haverhill, MA
City-wide ban on plastic bags for businesses with 8,000 square feet or more; medium-sized businesses will have an additional three months to prepare (May 2019).
Implement Date: February 7, 2019
Andover, MA
Town-Wide Ban On Plastic Bags
Implement Date: January 2, 2019
Unalaska, AK
City-Wide Ban On Plastic Bags
Implement Date: January 1, 2019
Brigantine Beach, NJ
City-Wide Ban On Plastic Bags
Implement Date: January 1, 2019
Solutions from Belvedere Exclusive
As the trend for bans and the imposition of fees for the use of single-use plastic bags grows nationwide, affected consumers and retailers can stay ahead of the curve by using reusable shopping bags such as those produced by Belvedere Exclusive.
Belvedere Exclusive is the premier source for environmentally-friendly reusable tote bags, insulated cooler bags, canvas tote bags, and other related products. All of our products are recycled, recyclable, or biodegradable/compostable.
Not only is this approach good for complying with current and anticipated future laws and being environmentally responsible, but reusable shopping bags imprinted with your company’s logo create brand ambassadors out of your customers, boosting impressions and building brand awareness.
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