Editor’s note: This story by Chris Mays was published by the Brattleboro Reformer on July 2.
[B]RATTLEBORO — The town’s use of plastic bags is diminishing by the day thanks to a new ordinance.
Plastic is no longer an option when picking up products at places such as the Hannaford supermarket on Putney Road.
“Starting July 1, 2018, a community ordinance prohibits this store from distributing single-use plastic shopping bags,” a sign on a front window says. “We encourage you to remember your reusable bags, which are better for the environment.”
On Monday, customers at Hannaford were seen carrying items in either reusable bags or paper bags. Otherwise, they were walking out with no bag at all.
Officials expect “widespread compliance,” according to Town Manager Peter Elwell.
“As far as overall compliance, anecdotally from what I’ve seen and heard from others, it seems at least the large retailers planned ahead and made this transition so folks are receiving paper bags where they had previously been receiving plastic bags if they had not brought their own bags,” Elwell said. “I’m sure there will be some people who need to catch up to the fact that the deadline was Sunday. And as those situations come to our attention, we’ll make sure we get with the particular stores or restaurants and make sure they do come into compliance.”
On July 9, the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance will be rolling out its Bag Share program. The Brattleboro Food Co-Op, Hotel Pharmacy, Brown & Roberts Ace Hardware and Brooks Memorial Library will be the first to offer bags that customers will be able to take when shopping or leave for others to use in the future. The bags’ look — a flower with the words “not a plastic bag” and “Brattleboro” — came from Ryan McCormick, who won a contest for the best design.
The DBA collaborated with climate activist group 350 Vermont, residents and business owners on the program.
“They hope to help reinforce and facilitate the routine of bringing reusable bags when people shop, decrease the stress of forgetting bags at home while making purchases, and provide a community resource for families with limited income if they are unable to acquire reusable cloth bags,” a press release from the DBA says.
Local legislators lauded the community’s work in the press release.
“This is an important issue and one that we should deal with on a statewide basis — actually beyond statewide but we can build on Brattleboro’s initiative,” said Sen. Jeannette White, D-Windham.
Rep. David Deen, D-Putney, said he expects the effort to inspire a statewide ban within the next two years if it is successful.
“Brattleboro continues to be a leader in connecting citizens’ actions with consumer habits for a cleaner economy,” said Rep. Mike Mrowicki, D-Putney, who has introduced a bill for a statewide ban. “Together, we can show that single-use bags aren’t needed and we can create a cleaner environment not just for today, but for future generations as well.”
Rep. Mollie Burke, P-Brattleboro, said she was so proud that her town stepped up to take on “this challenging issue.”
“It’s a great example of grassroots citizen action to tackle an environmental problem,” she said. “This is how we re-invigorate our democracy.”
An update to the solid waste ordinance was approved by the Select Board in November 2017. The decision came after residents voted in support of banning plastic bags in March 2017.
Efforts to ban the bags were led by Brattleboro resident Tim Maciel.
“It’s great that Brattleboro is finally implementing the ban but our ultimate goal is to have the state of Vermont ban it,” he told the Reformer. “I understand the Legislature is dealing with really heavy, complex issues but this should be an easy one. This should be a no brainer.”
Maciel said the bags saved with Brattleboro’s ban will be “very significant” in keeping carbon dioxide from going into the air and bags out of bodies of water. He said the supermarket Market 32 on Canal Street had “a nice promotion” for reusable bags.
“Naturally, there are a couple of small businesses, including a Chinese restaurant, that still didn’t know about the ordinance,” he said. “But, undoubtedly, Brattleboro will adjust just as folks in 50 municipalities in Massachusetts and many other states have. For Brattleboro, based on our population of about 12,000 and an average bag usage of 531 bags per person per year, we will be eliminating about 6,372,000 bags per year and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, distribution and disposal of bags by nearly 170 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.”
For his calculations, Maciel used a 2013 report produced by Parsons Brinckerhoff for the city of Los Angeles, California. At about 4 cents a bag, he said, local retailers should save about $254,880 per year on plastic bags.
Maciel said the DBA and others did a “great job” with the Bag Share program.
“And we’re not alone,” he added. “Towns from Middlebury to Arlington are considering bans themselves.”
Prohibited now in Brattleboro are thin-film single-use plastic bags, which have a thickness of less than 2.25 mils and are intended for transporting purchased products one time. The town’s ordinance says its purpose is to promote “public health, safety, welfare, and the responsible use of resources and protection of the environment. It seeks to mitigate the effect the single-use plastic bags provided within the town, and encourage the use of reusable bags.”
Thin-film plastic bags used for holding dry cleaning, newspapers, produce, meat, bulk foods, wet items and similar merchandise are exempt from the ordinance. These bags usually have no handles. Also exempt are any flexible transparent plastic for covering uncooked raw meat, poultry, raw fish, hard cheese, cold cuts, fruit, vegetable products, baked goods and bread.
It will be the town manager’s responsibility to issue warnings or fines if violations are observed. A warning notice will be served for a first-time violation. If another occurs within one year, there will be a second warning. After that, fines will include $50 for the first offense with a waiver fee of $25 and $100 or a $50 waiver fee for the second and all other offenses. A retail establishment cannot be penalized more than once within 24 hours.
Elwell said violations will likely come to his attention via town employees or community members. Someone from his office will then go and see whether the bags are thick enough to be in compliance.
