Doylestown Township supervisors voted 4-1 on May 21 in favor of banning single-use plastic bags. Supervisor Nancy Santacecilia cast the lone dissenting vote, voicing opposition to the 5-cent fee businesses would be required to charge for a recycled or reusable bag, if one is needed. The ordinance includes several exemptions: packaged bulk items, such as produce, nuts, candy or grains, bags for meats, seafood, prepared foods or bakery items are excluded, as are bags used to contain live animals sold at pet stores, bags sold together in packaging by a manufacturer, laundry and dry cleaning bags, and newspaper bags, according to the ordinance. Doylestown Township uses approximately 6.5 million plastic bags a year, which creates about 72,000 pounds of plastic waste, according to advocacy organization PennEnvironment, which helped draft the legislation. Doylestown Township is the 30th municipality in Pennsylvania to pass a plastic bag ban.
Source: WHYY; 5/24/2024 & Bucks County Herald; 5/22/2024