May 10 - Single-Use Bag Ordinances Continue to Prevail

As bag ban advocates anxiously await a California Supreme Court opinion on the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition vs. City of Manhattan Beach case, they continue to see success in the state and around the nation. Last month, both Santa Clara County, CA and the Village of Southampton, NY voted to ban single-use plastic bags. And just last week, Montgomery County, Maryland passed a bag ordinance placing a five cent price tag on each single-use plastic and paper bag distributed.

Montgomery County’s strategy is similar to that of neighboring Washington DC, which passed its ordinance in 2010, but the newer ordinance goes one step further by applying to all retailers. The revenue from the bag charges will be used for cleanup efforts. The ordinance goes into effect in January 2012 and is expected to bring in an initial $562,000 due to startup costs. Funds collected will nearly double that amount by 2013 before eventually stabilizing due to decreased bag demand. The ordinance will impact nearly one million people living in the County.

Read more about Montgomery County, Santa Clara County, and Southampton in PlasticsNews articles. For a list of current bag ordinances or to see how we’re combating this urban tumbleweed, please visit our website.