Will Mamaroneck Town Be the Fourth Sound Shore Community to Ban Plastic Bags?

There have been rumblings of a potential plastic bag ban in the Town of Mamaroneck for months, with several Sound Shore communities—the City of Rye, Village of Mamaroneck and, more recently, the Village of Larchmont—already joining the effort to eradicate the pesky bags, which often cluster on tree branches and wash up on shores.

But, with several large retail stores on Boston Post Road that would be directly affected by the ban, public opinion was mixed. 

Jay Peltz, vice president of the Food Alliance of NY State—a nonprofit trade association that promotes the interests of grocery stores—said that the proposed ban would place an unfair burden on retail stores that are contending with low profit margins—.1 cent on every $1—,higher income taxes and minimum wages and competition from other food stores. 

"It is clear that this is neither the right economic nor political environment to impose another costly mandate on the private sector," he said.

Peltz also challenged the idea that paper bags were better for the environment than plastic and said that paper bags release methane when broken down and would have "a greater carbon footprint than carbon dioxide," if thrown away and not recycled. Further, he said, the argument that plastic bags will linger in garbage piles if not recycled was a fallacy.

"Plastic bags placed in residential garbage cans in the Town of Mamaroneck do not end up in a landfill," he said, adding that bags tossed in the garbage—along with other solid waste—would be transported to Charles Point Resource Recovery Facility where they would be converted to energy. 

Arlene Putterman, public and community relations manager for Stop & Shop, spoke out against the proposed ban as well.

Putterman said that Stop & Shop has been involved in many environmental initiatives including the use and promotion of reusable bags for customers; programs in place to recycle plastic bags and corrugated cardboard boxes and the use of a collection bin in the front of the store for plastic bags. The store is also a member of the US Green Building Council and has obtained an Energy Star rating for 305 of its locations.

"We strongly believe that educating and encouraging our customers to use reusable bags is the best solution to aid in protection of the environment.  We urge the Town of Mamaroneck to look at other alternatives," she said.

Mamaroneck resident Nick D'Agostino said that not only would the law not make any significant change, but it would cause a greater tax burden, partially as a result of heavier garbage loads. 

"The customer should have a choice in what they want to use," he said.

Others spoke of efforts in surrounding communities to push for the ban.

Michaela Zeuss, co-chair of the Village of Mamaroneck's Committee for the Environment, said that—of the less than five percent of plastic bags that are recycled—more than 50 percent are sent out of the country because there is no market here to accept them.

"We hope that the Town of Mamaroneck will join the City of Rye, the Village of Larchmont and the Village of Mamaroneck...to reduce the number of plastic bags in our community," she said.

Sara Goddard, chair of the Rye Sustainability Committee, used Brownsville, TX as an example of a low-income community that did not suffer undue financial harm as a result of a plastic bag ban.

"If one of the poorest cities in Texas can pass shopping bag ordinances amidst financial hardship and inspire other neighboring communities to follow suit, the Town of Mamaroneck can too," she said.

The public hearing on the plastic bag ban was adjourned until May 1 at 8 p.m. when the board will present a law with some language changes.