Middletown & Portsmouth May Go Along with Newport on Plastic Bag Ban

MIDDLETOWN, RI—As Newport inches toward a plastic bag ban, Middletown is considering adopting an ordinance similar to the one Newport's Planning Board this week voted to support, Town Administrator Shawn Brown said yesterday.

"The administration and solicitors offices are drafting an ordinance as directed by the Town Council," Brown said.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth is polling its retailers to gauge their sentiments about the issue, according to Town Administrator Richard Rainer.

"Dave McLaughlin from Clean Ocean Access appeared before the Town Council" in August to request Portsmouth to come up with an ordinance to eliminate the bags, he wrote in an e-mail message. "The council stated they wanted to get feedback from local retailers before weighing in on the issue so they asked the folks to come back in late October or early November. I haven’t heard from Dave but I anticipate he will be in touch soon."

McLaughlin, executive director of Clean Ocean Access, has penned a model ordinance for all three communities. His version is based on the Barrington bag ban, he said previously. The goal, he said, is to have the bags entirely banned on Aquidneck Island by Earth Day 2017.

Currently, Barrington is the only Rhode Island community to enact a bag ban; but if Newport follows suit, the rest of Aquidneck Island might go along.

"All the ordinances should address sustainability, enforcement and persuasion, including education outreach," he said previously. There would also be penalties for non-compliance.

Too many of the bags wind up in trees and in the ocean where they have contributed to pollution and harmed birds and marine life, ban advocates say.

The ban would not apply to so-called barrier bags used to wrap produce and meat or to garment bags. It's primarily directed at carryout bags at the checkout.

The City Council is expected to take up the issue in January; and if ultimately passed, consumers could find themselves paying the extra costs the stores pass along to them for providing paper bags to customers.