State Ban on Plastic Bag Bans, Fees a Step Closer

In June, County commissioners in Washtenaw County joined some 200 jurisdictions across the country in imposing a fee on the use of most plastic bags retailers use to package their products. Plastic bags create multiple environmental problems, damage recycling equipment and take up space in the landfill, according to backers, who called the legislation a model of environmentalism.

The ordinance imposing the 10-cent fee, with exceptions made for low-income residents and for a handful of products to prohibit cross contamination and spillage, was set to take effect in April. Fees would help the county recoup the tens of thousands of dollars spent dealing with plastic bags.

Now, it looks like the ordinance designed to cut down on the number of plastic bags flying around the countryside and clogging up maintenance equipment may never take effect.

That’s because the Michigan Legislature may snatch away local control from local communities when it comes to banning or imposing fees on plastic bags. Senate Bill 853 passed the Michigan Senate last spring, and on Tuesday, was passed out of the House Commerce Committee on an 11-6 vote and now goes to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, called ordinances like the one approved in Washtenaw County “a money grab” that hurts local residents.

“To put a fee on their citizens, to me, is not an acceptable practice as we try to move Michigan in a better direction,” he told the Detroit Free Press.

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• The proposal would circumvent local ordinances setting fees on plastic bags, like one passed in Washtenaw County, or banning them altogether. What do you think about this?

After the Senate passed legislation that would supercede local ordinances, Washtenaw County commissioners said they had no intention to back down in the tug-of-war between local and state interests.

“We all know the impacts of plastic bags,” Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi said, explaining it costs county recycling centers about $200,000 a year to deal with the plastic bags and the damage they do to machinery. “They’re a nuisance and they’re littering our county, our state and our waterways.”

Sean Hammond, deputy policy director at the Michigan Environmental Council, told the Detroit Free Press the environmental cost is clear. “And this takes away any innovative local solutions,” he said.

A plastic bag ordinance is also in the works in Muskegon County.

Business groups, including the Michigan Restaurant Association and the Michigan Grocers Association, are solidly behind the proposed ban on bag bans and fees and argue for consistency across the state.

A local ban would be a “logistical nightmare” for eateries with multiple locations across the state, Robert O’Meara, spokesman for the restaurant group, said. And Linda Gobler, president of the state grocers’ group, said community-by-community rules “would create a confusing hodgepodge of regulation.”

“Profit margins are already slim for grocery stores,” Gobler said. “And when you see increased mandates and costs, those get passed on to the customer.”

Read more about the Washtenaw County ordinance here.

Image via Public Domain