We spend a lot of time and column inches covering plastics legislation and policy debates like extended producer responsibility, Break Free From Plastic Pollution and the United Nations plastics treaty talks. Those discussions often seem to drag on for months, or even years.
But there’s one kind of plastics law that doesn’t get as much attention anymore: local product bans. They don’t have the same potential impact as the bigger policy debates, but they’re still happening.
I’ve been watching a few that have generated headlines in their communities the past few weeks. In Bozeman, Mont., the latest news is that an initiative will appear on the November ballot that will ask voters to ban polystyrene foam foodservice products, single-use plastic bags, plastic straws and stirrers.
Montana (and many other states) had a law that preempted communities from enacting local plastics bans, but it was overturned in court earlier this year.
Even if voters approve the ban, that may not be the last word. Supporters of the state’s preemption law are still appealing the ruling that struck down that law, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Athens, Ohio, has a similar story. Ohio has a preemption law too, but that didn’t stop the City Council from passing an ordinance that limits local businesses from providing single-use plastic bags. The law took effect on Jan. 1.
But now Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is challenging Athens’ bag ban. This is shaping up to be another court decision on home rule and plastics. If Athens wins, I expect to see more plastics bans in the Buckeye state.
