Vermont is poised to become the fourth state in the country with a ban on single-use plastic bags following a House vote this week.
The House gave initial approval Thursday by a roll call vote of 124-20 to a bill, S.113, that would ban grocery stores and other retailers from providing single-use plastic bags and plastic stirrers starting in July 2020.
Under the bill, retailers would also be banned from providing coffee cups, takeout containers and other food containers made from “expanded polystyrene foam,” commonly (but incorrectly) known as styrofoam. Certain foam products, like food packaged out of state and packaging for raw meat and fish, would still be allowed.
Stores could provide paper bags to customers, either for free or at a charge of at least 10 cents per bag. The bill also requires that restaurants provide plastic straws to customers only upon request. Hospitals, nursing homes and hospices are exempt from that provision.
In reporting the bill, Rep. Jim McCullough, D-Williston, said S.113 takes a first stab at addressing “throwaway culture” by seeking to cut down on plastic pollution. Gov. Phil Scott has indicated he will not veto the ban.
The result of the roll call belies the almost two and a half hours of impassioned floor debate on the bill, with some Republicans expressing fierce opposition.
Rep. Patrick Brennan, R-Colchester, said he felt the bill was another “jab” at the business community in Vermont. He was particularly concerned about a provision in the bill that creates a working group to look at reducing single-use products.
“I’m wondering what people will do when they go to a fair or a festival and they get a sloppy dish of whatever and they ask for a fork, and somebody looks at them and says, ‘a fork, we can’t do that I’m sorry,’” he said.
Republicans raised concerns about the bill’s impact on coffee cups in the Statehouse, drink lids, red Solo cups, dry cleaning bags, apple orchards, and farmers markets. (McCullough said that paper coffee cups, Solo cups and non-foam drink lids would not be impacted, but plastic bags from dry cleaners, farmers markets and orchards would not be allowed.)
Rep. Bob Helm, R-Fair Haven, said that while he could acknowledge Vermonters’ contribution to plastics litter along roadsides, he would “not take any blame” for plastics in the ocean. Rep. Brian Cina, P-Burlington, responded that plastics pollution impacts wildlife in the state’s rivers and lakes, as he had observed while boating in Lake Champlain.
“Something I observed on these rides was that in every single decomposing bird’s corpse, there was plastic,” Cina said.
One provision that drew concern from all parties was the decision by members of House Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife to no longer require stores to charge for paper bags. The Senate had put the charge in so that Vermonters would shift to reusable bags.
“My concern with having an optional fee is that people will start using paper bags instead of plastic,” said Rep. Zachariah Ralph, P-Hartland.
Some Democrats expressed exasperation with their Republican colleagues who opposed the ban, saying municipalities, like Brattleboro have already been moving ahead with a ban. Rep. William Lippert, D-Hinesburg, who had been approached by three Girl Scouts in his town interested in a bag ban, said the body should be “embarrassed” by the debate.
“This is like so expected of us, this is not cutting edge,” he said. “Young people are looking at us and saying ‘why are we taking so long?’.”
Rep. Patrick Seymour, R-Sutton, said he supported the bill as one of the young people other lawmakers were alluding to.
“This is honestly the bare minimum that this legislation could be, and it could be a heck of a lot more stringent,” he said.
The growing awareness of impacts of plastics pollution, especially in oceans, has resulted in single-use plastics restrictions cropping up globally in recent years. The European Union voted in March to ban single-use cutlery, straws and plates in member states beginning in 2021. Hawaii has a de facto plastic bag ban and California banned large retailers from providing single-use plastic bags. New York lawmakers approved a ban on some plastic bags starting next March.
Gov. Phil Scott said at at press conference Thursday that he was OK with the ban.
“It sounds like the grocers and retailers are OK with this as well, they’ll find other means of bagging your groceries,” he said.
Vermont Retail & Grocers Association President Erin Sigrist has said her members would prefer statewide consistency over a “patchwork” town-by-town approach.
The bill also requires the Agency of Natural Resources to look into opening a second landfill in Vermont.
The House still has to take a final vote on S.113. The Senate then will have to decide whether to approve the House’s changes or iron out the differences in a conference committee.
