Plastic Bag Ban Adopted In Lower Merion Township

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — It's official: Lower Merion Township is banning single-use plastic bags.

Last week, the board of commissioners voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance amending the health and sanitation chapter of the township code, regulating single-use plastic carryout bags.

The township's Sustainability Committee in February announced a proposal to no longer allow retail establishments to provide patrons with single-use plastic bags.

After months of discussion, the board OKed the ordinance at its June 21 meeting.

"One of the things that many commissioners cited that put them in favor of this has been the city of Philadelphia's experience with basically the same ordinance, which appears to have been very successful," Board of Commissioners President Todd Sinai said.

Philadelphia banned single-use bags about a year ago.

This means an outright ban on single use carry-out plastic bags is in place will go into effect six months after the ordinance is adopted.

Additionally, the proposal levies fees for providing bags made from alternative materials, such as paper.

Customers will eat a 10-cent charge to be given bags in compliance with the ordinance.

This fee is included partly to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags to businesses.

Places offering compliant bags can keep the 10-cent fee to help them cover the cost of providing compliant bags.

Establishments that violate the ordinance would first be warned, then issued $100, $200, and $500 fines on the subsequent violations.

The proposal does allow for exceptions, however.

They are:

• bags without handles that are used to deliver perishable items to the point of sale at a commercial establishment, including bags used to package bulk items, contain frozen foods, unwrapped prepared foods & bakery goods, produce, meat, and live animals;
• bags used for laundry, dry cleaner, newspaper, or to protect a purchased item from damaging or contaminating other purchased items;
• bags sold in packages containing multiple bags, packaged at time of manufacture, and intended for use as food storage bags, lawn bags, trash or garbage bags, or pet waste bags.

Thirty days after the effective date of the ordinance and for six months thereafter, establishments would be required to post signage informing consumers about the ban and fee.

Residents can learn more about the ban online here.

More than a dozen other Pennsylvania municipalities have adopted similar ordinances.

Haverford Township's ban went into effect in early January, Tredyffrin Township's ban began in March, and Radnor's in late 202.

Lower Merion joined several other municipalities in a lawsuit back in 2021 alleging a state measure limiting plastic bag bans was unconstitutional.

However, the preemption prohibiting local regulation of the bags no longer exists after the 2021-22 Pennsylvania budget bill passed without extending the preemption.