Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Single-use plastic and straw ban takes effect later this year
WEST CHESTER >> The borough will ban single-use plastic bags and straws, effective July 2.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed a oneyear moratorium on any ordinances calling for a ban on single-use plastics, on July 1, 2019.
Enforcement begins July 2 and distribution of plastic bags and straws will be prohibited. At the September 2018 borough council meeting, Friends School students lobbied council to act. And council listened.
After July 2, any bag distributed to customers in the borough must include 40 percent recycled content and be recyclable in the borough. These would be known
as “compliant bags.”
Businesses would also be required to charge 10 cents per compliant bag to customers and disclose that information on the sales receipt.
Businesses may request a year-long exemption for review
by the borough’s sustainability advisory committee. A written warning will be issued for violating the ordinance, then a $100, $200 and $500 fine for successive violations in single 12-month period.
“West Chester residents receive about six million plastic bags annually, which are used for about 12 minutes on average before being discarded,” according to Will
Williams, borough sustainability director. “While the material is technically recyclable it has to be dropped off at a special location – plastic bags should not be included in commingled recycling, and actually create a lot of headaches and costs in the global recycling industry.”
Williams said that most plastic bags end up in landfills or in the environment, where they break into smaller and smaller “microplastics” and can become air and waterborne.
A recent study found we eat, drink, and breathe about a credit card’s worth of plastic every week, Williams said.
The borough is distributing reusable bags to senior and low-income communities, and will have a bag exchange at Borough Hall where residents can drop off extra bags for those in need.
Similar ordinances took effect in a dozen New Jersey shore towns and Camden County on Jan. 1, and following West Chester’s lead Philadelphia passed a similar law, also effective July 2 2020. Downingtown is also
mulling action on the singleuse plastic issue.
“We hope to break the single-use mindset, where we use something for a moment and discard it without full appreciation of the impacts or being sure it is disposed of properly,” Williams said. “These little day-to-day things add up across time and communities and create a big impact. West Chester joined Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Oregon, countless towns and cities by adopting a single-use ordinance in 2019.”
The ban passed by the thinnest of margins.
More than 100 residents, Friends School students and elected officials packed council chamber to hear Michael Stefano, Michael Galey and former chair Diane LeBold vote against, with Bernie Flynn, Don Braceland, Denise Polk and Bill Scott voting in favor, last year.
Kildare’s of West Chester owner and chef Stephanie Gray started using paper straws about 18 month s ago and said no one is complaining.
“It’s better for the environment and the right thing to do,” she said. “It’s a nobrainer.”
Flynn favored the ban and wondered whether concerned residents might lobby restaurants and merchants to voluntarily ban usage of single use plastics.
Mayor Dianne Herrin led the charge for the ban.
“I have no doubt the transition will be easy for our businesses in town, thanks to the work many in-town businesses have already done and the support being provided by the Borough’s Sustainability Director, our Sustainability Advisory Committee, and the resident group known as the West Chester Green Team,” said Mayor Dianne Herrin.
“The Borough’s elected officials are to be commended for taking this small but meaningful step toward fulfilling our sworn duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our residents.
“I’m looking forward to our next steps, and to continuing to help West Chester become a Clean & Green model for the region.”
Nathaniel Smith, member of West Chester Green Team also commented.
“It’s things like this measure to reduce plastics and waste that make me proud to live in West Chester,” he said. “I hope this effort will be adopted in other municipalities and the county as a whole.
“We all have to do our part!”