Philadelphia Others Sue PA Over Plastic Bag Ban Limitations

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia and three other municipalities have filed suit against the state in an effort to uphold their bans on plastic bags.

Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Narberth Borough, and West Chester City Wednesday announced proactive litigation to assert their right to enact and enforce plastic bag legislation.

The suit asks the court to declare unconstitutional a measure passed in May last year by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The measure bars local governments in Pennsylvania to "enact or enforce a law, rule, regulation or ordinance imposing a tax on or relation to the use, disposition, sale, prohibition or restriction of single-use plastics."

Plaintiffs argue the measure is unconstitutional for several reasons.

Among them is that it violates Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which provides that "[t]he people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people."

Additionally, the suit argues that the manner in which the legislature passed Section 1706-E(d) of Act 23 violated other provisions of the Constitution regarding legislative procedures.

Philadelphia, West Chester, and Narberth have already passed plastic bag bans.

Lower Merion's efforts to pass a single-use plastic ban have been stalled by the state.

Philly's ban was passed in December 2019 and set to begin a phased implementation in July this year with a full ban planned for April 2, 2022.

Details on Philadelphia's ban are available here.

"In Philadelphia and across the Commonwealth, local governments are increasingly concerned about the health and environmental effects of plastic bags," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "Yet, once again, we face a state legislature that is focused more on tying the hands of cities and towns than on solving the actual problems facing Pennsylvania. We are finding local solutions to local problems, and this suit is important in declaring our right to do so on this and many other issues."

According to Billy Penn, PennEnvironment Executive Director David Masur accused state politicians of "doing the dirty work for the plastic industry."