At the May 22 Greenbelt City Council meeting, council considered, discussed and ultimately adopted a single-use plastic bag ban and required retail establishments to charge at least 10 cents for each paper bag provided to customers, with a penalty for violation. The ordinance will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
Councilmember Kristen Weaver spoke about how College Park has already approved a similar ordinance and that Prince George’s County is considering similar legislation at the county level. She thought it would be advantageous to be on the record with an ordinance limiting single-use plastic bag distribution in Greenbelt.
Definitions
Weaver proposed a friendly amendment to eliminate the word “reusable” from the legislation where it prohibits businesses from providing plastic or reusable bags free of charge. Businesses should be able to give out free reusable bags to customers if they would like to, so that the cost for bags would apply to paper ones not plastic. The amendment passed.
The only plastic bags that would be eliminated by this ordinance are the thin film plastic bags, not reusable plastic bags. Resident Lore Rosenthal noted that the city gave out reusable bags at one point that were made entirely of plastic and many reusable bags are made from plastic. A reusable bag is one that has a stitched handle. Resident Bill Orleans asked the city to research the reusable bags they would use. He supports a prohibition on single use plastic bags but also reusable plastic bags and he criticized commercial plastic products.
Determining Cost
Councilmember Ric Gordon suggested charging only 5 cents for paper bags rather than 10 cents as proposed. Gordon also suggested a period when the city might give free reusable bags to start the transition from plastic.
Weaver noted that Montgomery County and Baltimore had 5-cent bag charges but that their ordinances were from several years ago. D.C. charges a 5-cent tax that goes to the city rather than a charge that goes to the establishment. The 10-cent charge for paper bags proposed by Greenbelt’s ordinance will go to the business and will help offset the increased cost of the paper bags.
Gordon then withdrew his proposed amendment to decrease the charge saying he would defer to the experts who had studied it. He proposed instead that the city provide free reusable bags.
Konrad Herling of the Lions Club said that group was already working on giving away reusable bags. Resident Lore Rosenthal commented that the Sierra Club is very scientific and has counted plastic bag usage at grocery stores and compared before and after counts to assess the effects of 5-cent and 10-cent charges and that’s how 10 cents was decided upon.
A Motion to Delay
Councilmember Judith Davis was in favor of the direction of the policy but believed the ordinance was not yet ready. She wanted further consideration of the cost and the scope and greater public education about the ordinance. She suggested delaying a vote on this ordinance until they could have another worksession and public hearing.
John Lippert, chair of Green ACES, said that the cost was set at 10 cents after studies of varying cost levels and determining what price point will change people’s attitudes and behavior. “The 10 cents is needed to make sure that people bring the reusable bag,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for years,” said Green ACES member Jane Young, who spoke emphatically and was dismayed by Davis’s suggestion of further study and hearings. She noted that another worksession and more delays would set the process back and postpone the ordinance indefinitely after all the work that has been done. “Please pass it now. Please don’t just think of a way to delay it,” she implored. Sustainability Coordinator Luisa Robles said that this ordinance has been in process for a long time, close to 14 years and other counties and cities have had them in place for a decade.
Weaver noted that the proposed effective date is January 1, 2024, which will provide time to work out any details and to conduct an education campaign.
Mayor Emmett Jordan expressed his desire to see it move forward but also wanted to be in compliance with neighboring jurisdictions and make sure that Greenbelt’s ordinance is compatible with what’s happening in the county.
Greenbelt resident Ben Fischler, who participated in the meeting online, said he believes it’s important for Greenbelt to pass its bill in order to motivate the county.
Reusable Bags Plentiful
Councilmember Colin Byrd, speaking via Zoom, said he would support the city giving out reusable bags. There are some people like Lippert and Young who are excited to see it move forward, he said, but there’s another group that’s going to be very surprised by it and free bags from the city could help decrease the negative shock factor. Byrd suggested free reusable bags be offered at recreation centers, including Springhill Lake and Schrom Hills, and not just in the city center, and raised the possibility of mailing them to residents.
Resident Michael Hartman noted that the city gives out reusable bags and reusable water bottles regularly. He suggested a children’s contest for designing the city bags and some research into the best reusable bags.
Robles said the city has been engaged in education about “bring your own bag.” Green ACES and Public Works have been giving free bags at the Labor Day Festival, she noted, and the Green Team was educating residents at the recent Greenman Festival.
Restaurants Oppose
Brandon Mahoney of the Maryland Restaurant Association spoke against the ordinance, calling it “confusing” and suggesting it would negatively impact drive-through restaurants and dining restaurants that provide “doggy bags.” Weaver, however, suggested “doggy bags” might not be impacted because they are no longer at the point of sale. Resident Kathleen Bartolomeo suggested there could be education to encourage people to bring a container when they go out to restaurants.
Vote
Jordan repeatedly stressed his preference for a county ordinance and even a state law rather than a patchwork of ordinances. Yet, he said he would support the ordinance and hoped it could be a catalyst to move county legislation along, though he reiterated the need for uniformity.
Davis, however, said she believed there needed to be “another go at this.” She foresaw plenty of amendments and more worksessions or items in coming months because details hadn’t been worked out, she claimed. Businesses are going to start clamoring because they only sell soup and it’s greasy and dripping and will get all over someone’s car in a paper bag and they’ll get sued, Davis suggested. “I’m not an anti-green person,” she stressed as she explained her concerns.
The ordinance was approved with six ayes and one nay from Davis.