Plastic Bag Ordinance In Phoenixville On Hold

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday night tabled a vote on an ordinance to ban plastic bags and straws from retail establishments.

The decision followed complaints from residents and business owners about the expense of getting paper bags and charging 10 cents and the cost to provide paper bags.

Council decided to send the proposed ordinance back to the borough’s policy committee for review. The committee meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22, in Borough Hall, 351 Bridge St.

The purpose of the ordinance is to reduce the environmental impact of single-use bags and plastic straws.

Under the proposed ordinance, a commercial establishment may make recyclable bags available to customers for 10 cents.

Mixed reactions

The borough residents expressed mixed reactions to banning plastic bags.

Susan Meadows, owner of Generations Toy Store, said small stores have enough trouble competing with Amazon.

She said she is concerned about charging customers 10 cents for recycling bags she got from a vendor.

“They all cost more than 10 cents,” she said.

She said the vendors told her that she would have to order a minimum of 3,000 bags to get the bags labeled as required in the ordinance.

“I would like to table this ordinance and have more time for businesses to meet,” she said.

Becky McKernan, a long-term resident, said the proposed ordinance puts an undo burden on small businesses.

“This is an unfair reach on our small businesses,” she said

McKernan said glass bottles are the way to go.

Sally Doyle, a borough resident and member of ReReRe Plastics, a non-profit group committed to recycling, said the group is excited about the ordinance.

“We are especially excited to see this happen at grocery stores,” she said.
Rodney Platt, a member of the Green Team, thanked Council for the proposed ordinance.

David Lutzker, Green Team president, said he would like to see the outreach to the community prior to adopting the ordinance.

Council members agreed that given the points that were brought up at the meeting additional time was necessary to look closer at the issue.

Jon Ewald, council president, said that the borough looked at neighboring townships that have adopted the ordinance when putting the Phoenixville Ordinance together.

Councilwoman Dana Dugan said banning paper bags and utensils is a state issue.