Will Guilford Be Next Town To Ban Single Use Plastic Bags?

GUILFORD, CT - While state officials and businesses seem to be getting onboard with the plastic bag ban wave many Connecticut towns are taking the lead on their own on acting.

Guilford may soon join that growing list.

Town officials have slated a public hearing date of Tuesday, May 28, 2019, 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center to receive public comment on “An Ordinance to Amend the Code of the Town of Guilford Chapter 236 Solid Waste and Recycling to include restriction of store use single-use plastic bags.”

That action - to schedule the hearing has been approved by unanimous vote of the Board of Selectmen. It comes after months of urging action by a local citizens group.

Shoreline towns such as Guilford, Madison, Branford and North Branford have been talking a lot recently about possible bans in plastic bags.

Perhaps pushed into it by towns that have moved on the issue far quicker, the Environment Committee of the General Assembly recently voted 25-4 in favor of a bill that would ban the sale of single-use plastic bags starting in 2020.

The bill also said that any paper bags provided by stores to customers who don't bring their own shopping bags must be 100 percent recyclable.

Stores that do no comply, according to the bill's language will be issued a warning on the first violation; after that a store would be fined $250 for a second and any subsequent violation.

It seems every day a new Connecticut town or city is passing a plastic bag ban. By advocates' counts, more than 20 communities have passed bans - about half of which have been in the past few months as the momentum to ban the plastic bags is building around the state.

The bill takes note of that fact, stating that any town or city that has enacted a ban on its own should not have its law superseded by whatever final action the state winds up taking.

"This bill would not impede in anyway the plastic bans that any towns have already moved forward on this issue," Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, co-chair of the committee said.

The Connecticut Food Association had submitted testimony during a public hearing on the bill, asking the state to act, stating it was difficult for the association to deal with it on a town-by-town basis.

"With 169 towns and cities in Connecticut, a one-by-one plan doesn't make sense," Wayne Pesce, president of the association, said. "This scenario is not broad enough, makes it difficult for retailers to comply, and is confusing to consumers."

He said the statewide ban would reduce the amount of single-use bags distributed at retail and encourage consumers in Connecticut to use their own reusable bags for shopping."

Pesce said grocers are trying to lead by example.

Recently Supermarket chain Big Y, which has 30 stores in Connecticut, announced that it will phase-out single-use plastic bags in its stores by next year. National chains Costco and Aldi, which both have stores in Connecticut, already do not provide free single-use plastic bags.