Fantastic news! On June 22, the Easttown Township Board of Supervisors passed a new ordinance banning businesses in Easttown Township from providing single-use, plastic carry-out bags, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
The use of single-use plastic bags has severe environmental impacts, including entering local waterways, littering the environment and causing harm to wildlife, becoming stuck in or upon natural resources and public property, and blocking storm drains. Shopping with reusable, compostable, or recyclable paper bags can help reduce waste and litter to keep our Township streets and waterways clean. Read the proposed Ordinance HERE.
PennEnvironment’s Zero Waste Advocate Faran Savitz issued the following statement in response to the announcement:
“We applaud the Board of Supervisors for taking this crucial step to address pollution from single-use plastic bags in Easttown. This is a major advancement in the fight to rein in the scourge of rampant plastic pollution that plagues our neighborhoods, our local parks and green spaces, and our rivers, streams, and oceans.
“Plastic bags are the poster child for the environmental harm caused by single-use plastics. 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. Monday’s passage of ordinance 450-2022 sends a strong message that Easttown is a leader in the effort to tackle litter and single-use plastic pollution.
“Legislation to tackle plastic bag pollution is broadly supported by Pennsylvanians, and we’ve seen the wealth of support from Easttown residents who care deeply about this issue calling for action. With this vote, Easttown joins hundreds of cities across the nation and a growing number in Pennsylvania in implementing similar legislation. From those laws, we know that policies like ordinance 450-2022 work. By dramatically reducing the distribution, we dramatically reduce the 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. We’ve had enough. Since businesses haven’t taken steps to rein in the plague of plastic bags, we’re relieved that our elected officials have.”
Read more: Daily Local News, NPR, Penn Environment
