Single-use plastic will become a thing of the past in Montgomery Township starting in Spring 2024.
During Monday night’s public meeting, the Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors decided to make the single-use plastic ban effective April 22, 2024, to coincide with Earth Day. The ban will prohibit businesses from providing single-use plastic to customers, which includes plastic bags, styrofoam containers, and plastic straws.
The board considered making the ban effective Jan. 1, 2024, because the township’s Environmental Advisory Committee wanted to be consistent with other communities like King of Prussia, Lower Merrion and Upper Merrion, who are initiating their bans on that date. The board, however, pushed the start date back to give businesses extra time to clear out their inventory and prepare — especially after the busy holiday season.
“There’s nothing stopping the businesses from doing it on Jan. 1 if that’s what they choose, but [Earth Day] is our hard stop,” said Vice-Chairwoman Annette Long.
Discussions on banning single-use plastic began in October 2022 after EAC member Donald Hamp brought it up during a public meeting. In May, the board encouraged voluntary participation in reducing the use of single-use plastics.
Temporary signs reminding businesses and customers of the ban will be distributed to businesses in the township to make the advertisement and enforcement consistent. Upper and Lower Merion, who are banning single-use plastic starting Jan. 1, 2024, have made signs with QR codes for additional information, which Montgomery Township plans to follow suit. The board agreed to have businesses leave the signs up for 90 days instead of 60 after the enactment of the ban.
To enforce the plastic bag ban, customers will be charged 10 cents per bag. The EAC discussed charging 15 cents, but the majority of the board felt a higher charge would leave a negative effect on the community, especially those who are low-income.
“A number of the communities around us, Lower and Upper Merion, have 15 cents as their cut point or the charge for bags,” said EAC member Linda Block-Love. “That's been chosen because that was the point in which it drove behavior… [We’re trying] to move behavior from ‘10 cents isn’t really that bad’ to ‘15 cents, I’m going to really think about what I’m going to do.”
Businesses that violate the ban would be fined $50 for the first offense, $100 for a second offense and $200 for a third offense violation all within 12 months. The fines would continue to be stacked for each subsequent event occurring within 12 months of the immediate prior offense. The penalties would be complaint-driven, said Township Manager Carolyn McCreary, meaning that the township will not be monitoring businesses while the ban is in effect and would only fine businesses if someone forwarded them a complaint.
“We want this to be a positive thing. We don’t want to harm the smaller mom-and-pop operations, although I don’t think it’s an unreasonable ask to move forward with this,” said McCreary.
The township has been educating the community on its website and social media about reducing residents’ single-use plastic waste and giving out reusable bags during events. They’re also considering allowing residents to bring in unwanted reusable bags to distribute to residents who need them.
Although the board altered some of the EAC’s recommendations, including the start date and the plastic bag fee, EAC members are hopeful that the policies will drive positive change in the community.
“[It’s] better late than never,” said EAC member Jonathan Katz. “It's a good step for the community, and I think a lot of [other townships] are looking at us as leaders. We’re really setting the stage and the tone for other townships.”
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