Single-Use Plastic Bags Banned In Abington Township

ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA —Single-use plastic bags are now banned in the township.

Abington Township joined several communities in Montgomery County and the Philadelphia region by outlawing single-use plastics while also becoming the first in Pennsylvania to do so this year.

The Abington Township Board of Commissioners approved the ban at its meeting Thursday night with Ward 9 Commissioner Dennis Zappone casting the only "no" vote about the 15 commissioners.

At its meeting last month, residents spoke out for and against the ban.

The township is the 37th municipality in Pennsylvania and the 15th in Montgomery County to pass legislation in the growing effort to rein in single-use plastics.

The ordinance is scheduled to go into effect after 180 days.

The ban includes single-use plastic bags and expanded foam polystyrene containers like plates, cups, and takeout containers.

PennEnvironment worked with the Abington Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) and members of the Board of Commissioners to draft the ordinance.

“PennEnvironment applauds Abington for taking this step to address pollution from single-use plastics," Zero Waste Advocate Faran Savitz said. "This is a good start in the effort to tackle the scourge of rampant plastic pollution that plagues our neighborhoods, our local parks and green spaces, and our rivers, streams, and oceans. Nothing we use for a few minutes, such as single-use plastic bags, should be allowed to litter our communities, pollute our environment, and fill our landfills and incinerators for hundreds of years to come."

As the state's 12th largest municipality with over 50,000 residents, Abington's passage of a plastic bag ban can serve as a model for other large municipalities across Pennsylvania to follow suit, PennEnvironment said.

PennEnvironment estimates that Abington residents use over 21 million single-use plastic bags annually, equivalent to over 235,000 pounds of plastic waste.

The organization said that 20 percent of Pennsylvanians now live in a municipality with a single-use plastic bag ban. Recent studies have shown laws like the one passed last night are incredibly effective at protecting the environment and public health.

While Abington commissioners approved the ban, they did not include a minimum charge for paper bags or other bags provided by retailers.

PennEnvironment said that provision encourages residents to bring their own reusable alternatives when shopping.

“Legislation banning single-use plastics is a proven tool we can use to protect our environment. And with this vote, one in every five Pennsylvanians now lives in a community with a plastic bag ban," Savitz said. "We know these policies work. By dramatically reducing the distribution of single-use plastics, we dramatically reduce their pollution.“Every resident has had the experience of watching plastic bags blowing down our streets and through our neighborhoods, seeing plastic bags stuck in curbside trees and bushes, or in our parks and other outdoor places we love."