West Chester Passes Ban Of Single-Use Plastic Bags And Straws

WEST CHESTER, PA — Before a packed crowd at borough hall Wednesday night, West Chester made history, voting to become the latest Pennsylvania municipality to pass a ban on single-use plastic bags and straws. It comes as local governments spar with the conservative state legislature that has sought to make such ordinances illegal.

West Chester's borough council voted 4-3 to approve the ordinance. The vote comes less than a year after nearby Narberth became the first municipality in all of Pennsylvania to pass a similar measure. And it passed despite concerns expressed by council members early in the meeting that the measure defied state law.

“It is incumbent upon council to resist and if you’re going to resist, resist completely,” State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-Chester) told the gathering. "This is a clear overreach of local control."

He was referencing recent legislation signed in late June by Gov. Wolf that placed a one-year moratorium on any municipal ordinances banning plastics going into effect. During that time, legislative bodies will study the "economic and environmental impact" of the ban. The bill was backed by the state Senate's Republican leader Jake Corman (R-Centre), who reportedly supports it because his district includes a major plastics business.

As such, West Chester's plastics ordinance is now scheduled to go into effect on July 2, 2020, instead of the originally planned Jan. 1, 2020.

"Many eyes are on West Chester at this moment," the West Chester Green Team, a key backer of the ban, said in a statement released on Wednesday. "We are at a critical juncture where we can choose to be leaders, we can choose to defy the corporate interests that snuck this moratorium into the state budget, we can choose to move forward..."

Hundreds of supporters gathered into the council chambers for the vote on Wednesday. Some of them were students; a group from West Chester Friends School rallied more than 500 signatures to a petition in support of the ban.

"Thank you to the 4 members of the West Chester Borough Council who passed our (ban) despite the state's attempt to kowtow to special interests and pre-empt us," West Chester Mayor Dianne Herrin said. "This is how positive change has always happened in our country: from the ground up."

The ordinance cites the severe environmental impacts of single-use plastics, ranging from greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, to litter, damage to wildlife, and excess waste generation.

Local businesses will be permitted to use paper carry out bags and resuable bags. Violators will be fined $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second, and $500 for the third.

Supporting the ban were council members William Scott, Denise Polk, Bernie Flynn, and Donald Braceland. Meanwhile, Diane LeBold, Michael Galey, and Michael Stefano opposed it.

Without the one-year moratorium signed in June, "this probably would have passed unanimously," Galey said.

In the meantime, it remains unclear how the state will respond to West Chester's actions. Since the ordinance would not go into effect until the one-year waiting period had passed (that is set to end on June 29, 2020), it's possible there will be no reaction. Of course, that likely depends on the results of the state investigation into single-use plastics during that time, and what action, if any, the Republican state legislature attempts to take when the moratorium ends.

Gov. Wolf's office has not released a formal statement on the ordinance. Patch has reached out for comment.