Latest news with #plasticbags
CBS News
3 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Legislation to be introduced aimed at banning single-use plastic bags in Pennsylvania
New legislation is going to be introduced in Pennsylvania that is aimed at banning single-use plastic bags throughout the state. Single-use plastic bags have already been banned in Pittsburgh and in Philadelphia, but there's now talk of this happening on a statewide scale. Pennsylvania Senator Judith Schwank (D-Berks County) has plans to introduce legislation aiming to stop retailers across the state from using plastic bags. Under the legislation that's expected to be proposed, retailers would be banned from providing plastic bags at checkout locations and instead would be asked to offer paper bags for a small fee. Retailers could also promote people using reusable bags. Schwank says the concern over single-use plastic bags comes from student advocates in her district who say they're worried about the impact the bags have on the environment and on public health. Some retailers, like Aldi, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's have already phased out the use of plastic bags. The National Conference on State Legislation says eight states, including Delaware, New York, and New Jersey have banned plastic bags. There would be some exemptions under the proposed legislation, including for produce, for frozen foods, and for prescription medications. It's unclear when the legislation is expected to be formally introduced.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Petersburg City Council member pushes for 5¢ plastic bag tax to fund city's beautification
A Petersburg city councilor is proposing a 5-cent tax on plastic bags with the proceeds going to city beautification efforts. Ward 7 Councilor Arnold Westbrook Jr., who has advocated for the tax for some time now, suggested at council's May 20 meeting that Petersburg could use the tax revenue to fund beautification efforts. In past meetings, Westbrook has also noted that plastic bags make up a large portion of litter in Petersburg, and that the tax could help reduce local plastic bag pollution. The 5-cent tax would be paid to the Virginia Department of Taxation, which would then disperse the funds to the city on a regular basis, he said during the city council meeting. 'If you don't know, a lot of localities up north, they already do it,' Westbrook told the meeting attendees. 'It's another way the city can make some money.' Virginia law started permitting localities to impose a five-cent tax on disposable plastic bags provided by retailers such as grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores in 2020. According to the law, revenue from the bag tax must be used for specific purposes: environmental cleanup, pollution and litter mitigation, educational programs to reduce environmental waste, or providing reusable bags to recipients of SNAP or WIC benefits. These guidelines ensure that the tax directly supports sustainability efforts and helps low-income residents transition away from single-use plastic bags. So far, 10 Virginia cities and counties have implemented the tax, using the revenue to support local initiatives from environmental cleanups to pollution mitigation, educational programs and more. Fairfax County, for instance, has generated over $6 million in revenue from their plastic bag tax since they first implemented it in January 2022. These funds have supported a wide range of environmental and social programs in the county, including Operation Stream Shield, which pays unhoused community members to clean up local waterways and public spaces. The county also used the funds to invest in local community recycling and composting infrastructure, among other projects, and drastically lowered the total amount of plastic bags used in Fairfax since the tax was first implemented. Westbrook is hoping for a similar outcome in Petersburg, with a focus on making the city look better. 'This can help beautify the city without any other strain on personal property taxes or other taxes on that sort,' he told meeting attendees. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg council member pushes for plastic bag tax to beautify city
CNA
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Is the plastic bag back?
CNA938 Rewind Japanese retail chain Don Don Donki is offering plastic bags at its Singapore stores again. The move comes seven months after the sale of plastic bags for shoppers to carry away their buys was discontinued. Lance Alexander and Daniel Martin discuss further with Kavickumar Muruganathan, lecturer at NUS on sustainable development and environmental economics.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Littering fines, plastic bag prices to increase this summer
May 19—OLYMPIA — In Washington, customers will begin to pay more for plastic bags, and those who choose to litter will be facing high fines after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1293 into law Saturday. "People who dump garbage in our beautiful state must be held accountable," said sponsor Rep. Mark Klicker, R-Walla Walla, in a statement. "Increasing the littering penalty for the first time since 1993 is an important step in addressing our horrible littering problem." HB 1293, which received bipartisan support and ultimately passed, with a 46-2 vote in the House and a 27-20 vote in the Senate, raises the penalty for littering to a class 2 civil infraction. Littering was previously a Class 3 civil infraction. This increases the base penalty from $50 to $125 for littering an amount less than or equal to one cubic foot, or about the size of a backpack. In addition to the base penalty, there will be an added $93 issued for dropping materials on state highways. As stated in the bill, "It is a violation of this section to throw, drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter upon any public property in the state ... whether from a vehicle or otherwise." Klicker said he has noticed an increase of litter throughout the state, which is why he proposed the bill. Data from the Washington State Department of Ecology backs up these observations. The agency found that in 2022, garbage dumped along Washington roadways and parks was 42% higher than the national average. Washingtonians were responsible for nearly 38 million pounds of litter annually, which is around 5 pounds per person or 897 pieces of litter, according to the report. "I have encountered everything from bottles to cups to plastic bags to paper bags, baby cribs, tires, mattresses, and sofas on our interstates," Klicker said in a statement. The bill does not only focus on littering; it also addresses the impact of single-use plastic bags, a major contributor to the litter issue, according to Klicker and the bill report. In 2020, legislation was enacted to prohibit the use of single-use plastic bags, mandating that retail establishments provide consumers with either paper bags or thicker, reusable plastic bags available for purchase. Currently, reusable plastic bags are priced at 8 cents and must meet a minimum thickness of 2.25 mils, where one mil equals one-thousandth of an inch. Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, the law stipulates an increase in the price of these bags to 12 cents and an increase in the required thickness to four mils. However, the Senate has postponed the enforcement of this thickness requirement by an additional two years. Retailers that sell reusable plastic bags meeting or exceeding the four-mil thickness before 2028 will incur a penalty of 4 cents for each bag sold, effectively raising the cost to consumers to a total of 16 cents per bag on their receipts. The revenue generated from this penalty will be allocated to the Waste Reduction, Recycling and Litter Control Account, aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of litter. The price for paper bags will remain unchanged at 8 cents each.
CNA
19-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Don Don Donki selling ‘eco friendly' carrier plastic bags in stores again to ‘support' customers' needs
SINGAPORE: Seven months after discontinuing the sale of plastic bags for shoppers to carry away their buys, Japanese retail chain Don Don Donki said on Monday (May 19) that it is bringing back plastic bags to its stores. With immediate effect, Don Don Donki will have at its stores biodegradable plastic bags that shoppers may pay to use at 5 cents each. It said announced in a Facebook post that it wants to better support its customers' needs while remaining "committed to its environmental responsibilities". It also said that the eco-friendly bags are specially designed to break down naturally over time, reducing the long-term impact on the environment. This will allow customers to carry their items "with a greater peace of mind", it added. The retailer said in the Facebook post that it continues to encourage its shoppers to take along their own reusable bags whenever possible. Under the law, all supermarket operators with an annual turnover of more than S$100 million (US$77.2 million) are required to charge at least 5 cents for each disposable carrier bag. This was in force since July 2023. These large supermarkets include FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket and Don Don Donki. In 2023, large supermarket operators account for around two-thirds – or about 400 – of all supermarkets in Singapore Before the law came into effect, Don Don Donki outlets charged 10 cents for each plastic bag, before it changed to charging 5 cents a bag regardless of size to comply with the law. In October 2024, the Japanese retail chain announced that it would stop the sale of plastic bags at its 17 outlets in Singapore then.
