Though the ban was slated to go into effect Oct. 1, its lead sponsor Sunny Simon agreed to push back the start date to Jan. 1, 2020, to give retailers more time to adjust. (Retailers are the ones who will be fined for violations, enforced by the county’s consumer affairs department.)
But it’s unclear if the ban will ever take effect. At the statehouse, Republicans are actively working to preempt the ban and others like it with a resuscitated piece of legislation that would prevent communities from regulating or levying fees on auxiliary containers.
The bill’s co-sponsor, George Lang, represents a district that’s home to a plastic bag factory. He has said that the legislation is supported by the Ohio Beverage Association, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and “other politically influential business groups.”
Sunny Simon has said she isn’t surprised the statehouse, as currently constructed, is “bought and paid for by the plastic and chemical industries with no consideration to the long-term damage and impact to the environment.”
If no preemptive bill is passed in Columbus, the local ban will help to reduce the 320 million plastic bags that Cuyahoga County residents use every year. It will apply primarily to supermarkets and will not affect bags for restaurant orders, newspapers, dry-cleaning, meat, pet waste, prescriptions, or partially-consumed bottles of wine. Consumers will also not be fined for plastic bags that they bring with them.
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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2019.
what Simon and other supporters have never addressed, where are all these inspectors coming from? wat are there 100 thousand businesses? And followup inspections? Where are funds for these people coming from/ Are they removed from normal duties, or are they new employees?
Yes, I know all about what is happening to the environment…I live in an area with many trees and they can be magnets for plastic bags when the wind kicks up, but I also have three good-sized feline companions,
Each of them will continue to “take care of business” five times a day. …and they produce a staggering amount of “pet waste” each week. Paper bags are not going to do the trick. I am not happy about this ban.
Bottom line: It’s a shitty idea, and I’m quite pissed.