Reduce, Rethink Use of Disposable Plastic Bags in Waterville

A Message from the Sustain Mid Maine Coalition’s Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Team’s Plastic Bag Committee:

FACTS:

Plastic shopping bags have been ubiquitous in our society since first introduced in the late 1970s. They are made from oil, never degrade, pollute our environment, and only about 5% get recycled. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American uses 150 per year. A conservative estimate if you ask me. Nevertheless, there are about 16,000 residents of Waterville. That means 2,400,000 plastic bags are used in Waterville alone every year. A plastic shopping bag is about a foot across. If you put the 2,400,000 plastic bags Waterville uses each year end to end, it would stretch over 8,000 football fields. This needs to change.

Let’s assume that half of these plastic shopping bags, 1,200,000 come from one of the Hannaford’s here in town. According to the Hannaford’s in Elm Plaza, they pay $32 dollars for a box of 2,000 plastic bags meaning each one costs 1.6 cents. That means each Hannaford’s store in Waterville is paying approximately $19,200 annually on handing out free plastic shopping bags. That is nearly $40,000 every year spent by Hannaford’s alone. This needs to change.

All told there are about 140 different plastic bag ordinances in the United States. California and Hawaii have banned them all together. Chicago banned them in 2014. Washington, DC and Dallas charge for bags, paper and plastic. Plastic bags are no longer used in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Manitoba. Europe and Asia have cracked down on them too.

About a dozen Maine towns have already banned or placed a small, 5 cent fee on plastic shopping bags to discourage their use. The towns of Bath, York, Freeport, Brunswick, Kennebunk, Saco and Belfast have all banned plastic bags in their towns. The towns of Portland, South Portland, Topsham and Falmouth have all placed a 5 cent fee on them to deter their use.

ACTION:

The Sustain Mid Maine Coalition’s Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Committee is working on an ordinance to bring forward to you, the City Council of Waterville, that would do the following:

1. Prohibit the use of plastic shopping bags at businesses in Waterville where food sales make up 2% or more of total sales. This would apply to grocery stores, Walmart, restaurants, cafes, and convenience stores where the majority of these plastic bags come from. It would not apply to businesses like Home Depot, Staples, retailers, clothing stores, etc. This does not apply to thin plastic produce, meat, and seafood bags at the grocery stores, dry cleaning bags, or plastic newspaper sleeves. As in other Maine towns, The City Code Enforcement Officer would enforce this ordinance.
2. We are not proposing any changes to the use of paper bags at businesses in Waterville. They would still be available for free at check out. This will support the forest products industry rather than the oil industry.
3. This ordinance would encourage folks to bring their own reusable shopping bags from home to the store with them.

As our city continues to revitalize itself, as more businesses invest in Waterville, and as Colby continues to pour money in to our downtown, we need to clean up our city to attract new and retain existing residents and businesses. What I have seen over the last few weeks picking up litter and trash around town has been eye opening. We need to consider how clean streets, parks, trails, and riversides can contribute to the revitalization of our great town.

If you would like to join us to help make this happen, join us Tuesday, December 12 at 8:30 AM in the Front Street Conference Room of Waterville City Hall on Common Street in Downtown Waterville.