Governors from Maine and Vermont signed bans on plastic bags into law within hours of each other! Maine’s ban will go into effect on Earth Day, April 22, 2020, while Vermont’s will go into effect July of 2020. They have become the fourth and fifth states in America to ban certain plastics after California, Hawaii and New York.
The two states are on a roll! Maine just recently banned Styrofoam (polystyrene) in the state in early May, and Vermont’s plastic ban (the most comprehensive plastics ban so far) includes more than just single-use bags. It also bans food establishments from giving out Styrofoam products or plastic straws to customers.
“Vermont has now established a national precedent of tackling three of the worst examples of plastic packaging in one sweeping state law,” said Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator who heads a plastics pollution initiative at Bennington College, in a statement.
Both bans make it illegal for plastic items to be distributed by food establishments. As a courtesy, each state has opted to give businesses enough time to adjust to the new regulation, which is why the laws won’t go into effect until next year.
Rep. Holly Stover, who sponsored the bill in Maine, said in a statement:
Today, we took an important step towards protecting the wildlife and landscapes that support Maine’s economy. With the governor’s signature on this bill, we will be limiting the plastic bags that enter our coastal waters and protecting the health of our marine life.
A total of 24 municipalities in Maine had already instituted local bans on single-use plastic bags so the new law serves to create a uniform, statewide policy. However, Maine’s ban provides exceptions: it will allow stores to charge at least 5 cents for paper bags or reusable plastic bags that are able to withstand at least 75 repeated uses, and it allows certain types of bags, including bags for produce, prescription drugs, newspapers, laundry, and live animals.
Plastic bag manufacturers argue that this ban will only lead to thicker bags in landfills, which is why Vermont’s bill is more strict. It requires plastic bags to have stitched handles. The stitched handle requirement makes it costly for manufacturers, rendering it most likely that carryout bags will be made from cloth or reusable polypropylene instead, according to National Geographic.
“We all need to think twice about what we waste and how that impacts our world,” Maine Rep. David McCrea said in a statement. “Our future generations deserve nothing less than our best efforts to protect the environment that they will inherit.”
