Councillor Drops Fee From Proposed Beverly Bag Ban

BEVERLY, MA -- Ward 2 Councilor Estelle Rand plans to drop a portion of her proposed ban of single-use, plastic shopping bags in Beverly stores that would have charged customers a small fee if they asked for a paper bag. Beverly is one of more than 70 Massachusetts communities that has passed or is considering passing bans that would ban plastic shopping bags that have been a staple at supermarkets and other retailers for the past 30 years.

Rand told the Salem News, which first reported this story, that she backed off the bag charge after learning it was not supported by Attorney general Maura Healey. The next hearing on the proposal is at 8 pm on Tuesday when City Council's legal affairs committee will discuss the ban.

The bills in Beverly and other cities and towns may be moot, as the state legisature is also considering a statewide ban on plastic shopping bags. The goal of such laws is to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags and reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills.Unlike their paper counterparts, plastic shopping bags are not typically accepted in recycling programs, meaning shoppers have to bring them back to the store to get them recycled. As a result, only about 1% to 3% of them are recycled.

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Patch file photo.