PEABODY — If City Councilor-at-Large Thomas Gould gets his way, plastic bags will be a thing of the past.
“This is about saving the planet for future generations,” he said.
“It’s time Peabody joined the nearly 100 other cities and towns and banned plastic bags.”
Gould, who serves as chair of the Industrial and Community Development subcommittee, won unanimous initial approval for the ban. A vote by the full City Council is expected later this year.
If successful, stores will be asked to switch to paper, and join other North Shore communities including Lynn, Danvers, Salem, Beverly, Hamilton, and Marblehead to ban the single-use bags.
The worldwide movement appears to be taking off. China, Bangladesh, Italy and many African countries including Rwanda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic Congo, and South Africa have instituted the ban.
Big cities, including Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York, have joined the effort.
Greentumble, an international nonprofit whose mission is to change attitudes and behaviors toward a more sustainable lifestyle, says there are many reasons to ban plastic:
- Plastic bags pollute our land and water.
- They are made from non-renewable resources and contribute to climate change.
- They never break down, and are harmful to wildlife, marine life, and human health.
- Plastic bags are not easily recycled.
- They are expensive to clean up after, and there are better alternatives.
Still, some shoppers say they like plastic bags because they can be used for a variety of purposes at home.
Retail trade groups have said it’s expensive to go with paper, and the costs will have to be passed on to consumers.
Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his members oppose the ban because it’s anti-consumer and anti-choice. It’s a solution looking for a problem, he said.
The plastic bag ban has been a nightmare because each city or town is making their own rules, he added.
“We don’t like dealing with this crazy quilt of regulations in 351 cities and towns, that’s not how this is supposed to work, it’s not good for anyone,” Hurst said.
Still, he said, he is not enthusiastic for a statewide ban either.
State Rep. Lori Ehrlich, (D-Marblehead) and Sen. James Eldridge (D-Marlborough) have filed legislation for a statewide plastic bag ban that would commence in August.
Ehrlich said she is optimistic about the bill’s passage.
“There’s a groundswell of support behind the bill in the House and outside,” she said.
It’s unclear where House Speaker Robert DeLeo stands on the measure. The Winthrop Democrat declined a request for an interview and a spokeswoman wouldn’t say which way he was leaning.
The Massachusetts Food Association, whose members include supermarket chains, testified in support of a ban at a recent hearing on Beacon Hill.
But they requested a longer phase-in period than the Aug. 1 implementation date in the legislation.
Retailers say they would prefer a single, uniform statewide regulation to the patchwork of local plastic bag ordinances across the commonwealth.
The Legislature has yet to vote on the measure.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
