ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Over the past five years, more than a dozen Pennsylvania municipalities have passed legislation to eliminate single-use plastic bags.
None was in the Lehigh Valley.
- More than a dozen Pennsylvania municipalities have adopted plastic bag bans
- Efforts to eliminate single-use plastic bags are underway in Allentown and Bethlehem
- Easton is the only major city in the Lehigh Valley not currently considering a plastic bag ban
“I think we're a little late to the party, and we are certainly lagging behind neighboring states,” said Faran Savitz, a zero-waste advocate with PennEnvironment.
“But it has some benefits — we've seen what's worked, what hasn't worked. And so the cities that are passing legislation these days in Pennsylvania can sort of take the best practices from other parts of the country and do it the best we can.
“And, although we're a little late, now that the ball’s rolling, hopefully we'll see more and more communities step up, take the lead and pass bans on plastic.”
Legislation aimed at limiting or eliminating single-use plastic bags has been a point of conflict for a decade nationwide. Oftentimes, that has caused municipal leaders to codify their own rules in lieu of statewide bans, creating an inconsistent patchwork of rules.
While advocates and environmentalists argue that plastic’s inability to decompose leads to dangerous microplastics in food and residential tap water, ban opponents criticize the fees passed on to residents or businesses.
Savitz, who has worked with several of the Valley’s environmentalist groups to help draft single-use bag bans, said municipal momentum can help create statewide change.
“One of the best ways of getting the state to pass a comprehensive ordinance would be to get as many of our local communities to take action as possible,” he said.
“Because, like we've seen in other states, if a bunch of cities, towns and boroughs speak up and take action, then it builds that momentum, it gets the ball rolling, and it makes it more likely we'll be able to ban them at the state level.”
Some businesses have stepped in, circumventing local and state politics.
Wegmans Food Markets in September announced single-use plastic bags would be removed from all 18 Pennsylvania stores, including the Bethlehem location. The store sells paper bags for 5 cents each.
“It's a good example for other stores to follow,” Savitz said. “I think it does require legislation to get everyone to get rid of plastic bags and to encourage reusable bags, too, because that's what it boils down to.”
Problems with plastic
It’s incredibly hard to avoid single-use plastic products — they’re pretty much everywhere, from disposable diapers and grocery bags to cups and utensils.
The problem with plastics, environmentalists say, is that they don’t naturally decompose. Instead, they break down into smaller pieces, called microplastics, that contaminate water and seep into the food chain.
Last year, a study out of a Netherlands university for the first time showed microplastics in human blood. Recent research from Boston College argues plastics negatively affect health.
Plastic “causes disease, disability and premature death at every stage of its long and complex life cycle — from extraction of the coal, oil, and gas that are its main feedstocks; to transport, manufacture, refining, use, recycling, and combustion; and finally to reuse, recycling, and disposal into the environment,” according to the Boston College report. “Children are particularly vulnerable.”
In babies and children, plastic-associated exposures are linked to increased risks of prematurity, stillbirth, low birth weight, birth defects of the reproductive organs, neurodevelopmental impairment, impaired lung growth and childhood cancer, researchers argue.
PennEnvironment's testing has found microplastics in water samples in Lehigh County. A March 2021 survey of waterways showed microplastics in the Lehigh River, Little Lehigh Creek and Saucon Creek.
Recent efforts
There has been some recent movement to limit or ban single-use plastic bags in the Valley.
Members of Allentown’s Environmental Advisory Council in mid-March presented a plan to do so in the city.
“These bags are used for just a few minutes and then thrown ‘away,’ but there is no ‘away,’” according to the plan shared with the council.
“Plastic bags and other single-use plastics end up in landfills that can leach contamination, incinerators that emit hazardous air pollution, and most importantly, as litter that ends up in our parks and waterways where they can last for hundreds of years, if not longer, harming wildlife and our health.”
Still in its infancy, city EAC founder and member Julie Thomases said there's work to be done to study the potential impact of a ban on residents and businesses.
"The Allentown AAC will continue evaluating the best path forward to address the challenges of banning single use plastic bags, what community education will look like, what a rollout would look like and what enforcement can look like in Allentown through our engagement with city administration and city council," Thomases said.
The plan marks the most recent attempt at a citywide ban in Lehigh County since county officials tabled their efforts almost two years ago.
The county board of commissioners in December 2021 decided to suspend consideration of a plastic bag ban, which included a 10-cent fee for each single-use bag provided by a business that would increase to 15 cents.
Under the proposal, money collected from the sales would have to be reported and sent to the county to be used for environmental education and businesses who did not comply would be subject to fines.
Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley said he was unsure where the legislation currently sits.
“It was unfortunate that the ordinance in Lehigh County was tabled, but hopefully we can get the ball rolling there soon, too,” Savitz said. “And certainly, Allentown, Bethlehem or other communities passing their own legislation would motivate the county to pass their own as well.”
Here's more about efforts to ban single-use plastic bags in the Valley’s major cities:
Allentown
The city’s EAC on March 13 presented a plan to move away from plastic bag use in the city, called “A Path Forward to Move Beyond Plastic.”
So far, no formal ordinance has been introduced, City Clerk Mike Hanlon confirmed Thursday.
“The best thing for the city of Allentown to do is to pass its own ban on single-use plastic bags similar to the model that Bethlehem is using," which is based on PennEnvironment’s model legislation, according to the plan presented to council.
Based on Bethlehem’s proposal, the plan lays out a “ban-fee hybrid” model. It would ban retailers from providing single-use plastic bags at the point of sale, as well as place a small fee — 15 cents per bag is the recommendation — on any paper or reusable bags provided by a retailer.
Under the plan, the retailer would retain the bag fee, and there would be no charge if a customer brings their own reusable bag with them.
“Plastic bags are the worst option for the environment, so they are eliminated entirely,” according to the plan. “And this covers any plastic bag, regardless of how thick or thin it is or if it’s made from a compostable or bioplastic material.”
In Pennsylvania, plastic is the most common form of litter, Thomases said.
"The city of Allentown itself spends over $4.5 million each year on litter and illegal dumping — the third-highest amount by any municipality in the state, according to Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful," Thomases said. "Over 75 percent of that goes to litter abatement and prevention."
Bethlehem
Bethlehem City Council in October 2019 unanimously passed a resolution in support of a statewide ban on plastic bags. So far, no city-based ordinance has been introduced for a vote.
At the time, Mayor J. William Reynolds was a council member and co-sponsored the resolution.
“This is a step in the right direction, but at the same time, as we look at the different issues that affect the city as far as sustainability and climate action, it will have to be a parallel road process,” Reynolds said before the vote, according to minutes from the meeting.
“Some of it will be through legislation and policy action up here, but we need to come up with creative ways to encourage the community to be a part of this.”
He also noted that ordinances are not the only way to make change in the city, citing the importance of collaboration and information-sharing.
“It has to happen through education, it has to happen through working together,” Reynolds said.
“The good news is there is a strong spirit on these issues; people want to be part of the solution. The challenge for all of us and for the climate action is how do you create that structure that allows people to be part of the positive change.”
In September 2021, the city’s EAC presented a draft ordinance to council. Under the proposal, businesses would be prohibited from giving out single-use plastic bags or non-recyclable paper bags. Reusable bags would cost 10 cents minimum, and all sales of reusable bags would be retained by the business.
Those who violate the ban would have to pay a $50 penalty for the first offense, then $100 for the second. Third and subsequent offenses could cost businesses $200.
Lynn Rothman, chairwoman of the city's Environmental Advisory Council, said Bethlehem leaders responded to the proposal with a list of questions.
"We researched answers to the questions and provided information back to council just last month for their consideration," she said.
Easton
There have so far been no ordinances or resolutions presented to Easton's governing body about plastic bag use.
“A ban of this nature should be done at a minimum of countywide,” Mayor Salvatore J. Panto Jr. said. “We are a small city and would have little impact.”
However, members of the city’s Environmental Advisory Council have plans to study the possible effects a ban would have on the community — for better and worse.
“We have discussed it, but our members and volunteers have some concerns that this would have an outsized negative impact on lower income and unhoused populations,” city EAC Chairman Ian Kindle said.
“Our next step would be to reach out to businesses within Easton city limits to gauge their current use of plastic bags and to get their input on the impacts of banning or limiting plastic bag use in the city.
“We have not made any progress on this as yet, and have not developed any ordinance or work product on this issue.”
