Plastic Bag Ban Topic Of Wednesday Meeting In Lower Merion

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Lower Merion Township officials are planning to discuss a proposed ordinance that would severely limit the availability of single-use plastic bags in the township on Wednesday

The township's Sustainability Committee will go over the ordinance again Wednesday night.

In-person attendance by the public will be permitted at this meeting.

Those interested in participating virtually should contact Jody Kelley, Township Secretary at 610-645-6145 or [email protected] before noon on May 3.

Public comments via email to [email protected], by postal mail addressed to Board of Commissioners, 75 E. Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003, or by phone to 610-645-6145 will be accepted until noon May 3.

An outright ban on single use carry-out plastic bags would be in place if the ordinance is adopted.

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

Customers would 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 that offer 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;
• and bags provided for use by commercial establishments operated by a Commonwealth, Federal or local government agency.

Should it be adopted, the ban would be in effect six months after the ordinance is adopted.

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.

See the full proposed ordinance here.

Fourteen 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.

Philadelphia banned single-use bags about a year ago.

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.

According to township officials, township residents use an estimated 23 million bags per year. Officials said this requires the same amount of petroleum as driving roughly 1.6 million miles and generating approximately 126 tons of waste.

A survey conducted by the Lower Merion Conservancy regarding plastic bags showed 96.7 percent of the 629 respondents support "efforts to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags."

"Plastic bags clog sewage and storm drains and break down into toxic microplastics that pollute our oceans and hang out in landfills for up to one thousand years," according to the conservancy. "Successful ordinances have reduced plastic bags in storm drains by up to 89 percent, in rivers by 60 percent, and in residential areas by 59 percent."