The Board of Supervisors has voted to advertise an ordinance that would promote reusable bags and prohibit the use of single-use plastic bags in retail establishments.
The proposed ordinance will come before the Supervisors for action at a future meeting. The Township Environmental Advisory Board developed the ordinance over the past year in cooperation with other municipalities.
Ordinance elements include:
• Bans single-use plastic bags and non-recycled content paper bags.
• Allows reusable bags meeting specified criteria and paper bags with a minimum of 40% postconsumer recycled content.
• A minimum fee of $0.15 must be charged for each bag given to customers. This fee is retained by the business and noted on the receipt.
• Plastic straws and utensils will be provided only upon request by the customer.
• Some types of bags are exempt including bags used for produce, meat, fish, poultry, pre-prepared foods, baked goods, dry cleaning, newspapers, and trash bags and live animals (ie crickets).
• Signage will be required to be posted to educate consumers.
Click here to review the ordinance