Portsmouth sets Feb. 26 for hearing on proposed bag ban

If approved, ordinance would prohibit single-use plastic carryout bags

By Jim McGaw
Posted 1/23/18

PORTSMOUTH — A proposed ban on single-use plastic bags in town will be debated at a public hearing set for Monday, Feb. 26.

The Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to advertise …

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Portsmouth sets Feb. 26 for hearing on proposed bag ban

If approved, ordinance would prohibit single-use plastic carryout bags

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — A proposed ban on single-use plastic bags in town will be debated at a public hearing set for Monday, Feb. 26.

The Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to advertise for the hearing, which will be held at Town Hall during the council’s regular 7 p.m. meeting. After digesting comments from residents and discussing the matter themselves, the council may vote yay or nay on the proposed ordinance after the hearing is closed.

The proposal is a result of a push by the nonprofit environmental group Clean Ocean Access (COA) to get all three Aquidneck Island towns to regulate the bags. The group first asked the council to draft an ordinance in August 2016 and renewed its plea last summer after Newport and Middletown had voted to implement a ban on single-use plastic bags starting Nov. 1. 

According to Dave McLaughlin, COA’s executive director, the bags are environmentally unsound and are particularly dangerous to marine life. They break down into tiny pieces, are mistakenly ingested by fish and become part of our food chain, he has said.

Two-thirds of local residents who responded to a town survey last fall said they supported a ban on single-use bags in Portsmouth.

Under the proposed ordinance, no business shall provide or make available any plastic carryout bag at the point of sale. All businesses providing plastic barrier bags or double-opening bags need to offer onsite recycling under the ordinance. 

The proposal also sets forth several exemptions for things such as laundry dry-cleaning bags, bags provided by pharmacists or veterinarians for prescription drugs and bags for small hardware items. The draft ordinance also addresses enforcement. 

First-time offenders would be given warning letters, while a second offense would merit a $150 fine. For a third or subsequent offense, a fine of $300 would be assessed, with the violation heard and adjudicated in Municipal Court.

On Monday, the council heard comments on both side of the issue from audience members, including a group of sixth-graders from St. Michael’s Country Day School in Middletown who urged the council to move forward with a ban. According to their teacher, Mimi Carrellas, the students have also made presentations to the Middletown and Newport councils.

Local resident Daniela Abbott also spoke in favor of regulating the bags, saying they contribute to macro-plastics pollution. 

“The plastic never really decomposes,” Ms. Abbott said, adding that the tiny debris gets into fish, oysters and other sea life. 

Dissenters

Not everyone who spoke Monday night was enamored with the idea of an ordinance banning the single-use bags.

Local resident Peter Roberts said he wasn’t convinced that local businesses were to blame for plastic bags getting into local waters. He said big corporations were responsible for the pollution.

“It’s not us,” Mr. Roberts said. 

Another resident, David Reise, said bags are not the biggest problem when it comes to ocean pollution locally. “The biggest thing are water bottles,” he said, adding that he also sees a lot of Dunkin’ Donut cups deposited outside.

Although he voted in favor of advertising for the public hearing, council member Paul Kesson said he found it ironic that Portsmouth was considering such an ordinance while at the same time starting a pay-as-you-throw program that requires participants to use orange plastic bags.

plastic bag ban, Portsmouth Town Council, Clean Ocean Access

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Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.