Birmingham city councilor Darrell O’Quinn plans to present a plastic bag ban ordinance to the city council on Tuesday.
The ordinance would require Birmingham retailers to either provide reusable containers or to provide containers that are made of recyclable paper or compostable plastic rather than plastic bags.
O’Quinn said the idea for the ordinance stemmed from a conversation he had with an environmentally-minded Birmingham resident who asked if the city could pass such a ban on single-use plastic. A bill sponsored by Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, that would prohibit local governments from banning the use of plastic bags further pushed O’Quinn to pursue a bag ban, he said.
Efforts to reach Livingston were not immediately successful.
“We want to let the state legislature know we don’t want them to pass an unfunded mandate forcing us, the city of Birmingham, to deal with this type of waste. Plastic bags, Styrofoam cups and other forms of single use containers are majority of the litter that you see in the city,” O’Quinn said. “I felt it necessary to move forward.
If approved, this would be the first plastic bag ban adopted by an Alabama city.
The ordinance defines a “container” as a carryout container provided by a store to a customer at the point of sale. However, the ordinance makes exemptions for produce bags, laundry or dry-cleaner bags, newspaper bags and containers used to contain or wrap frozen foods and meat intended to contain moisture.
It defines a “compostable plastic container” as one that meets current ASTM D6400 standards for plastics that decompose in a municipal or industrial composting facility at a rate consistent with known compostable materials.
“Recyclable paper container” is defined by the ordinance as a paper container that is completely recyclable, including any handles, and contains at least 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper. The ordinance also requires such paper container display the words “recyclable” and “made from 40 percent post-consumer recycled content” on the outside of the bag or container.
Individuals, corporations, partnerships, business vendors or vendors that provide merchandise, goods or materials to customers—whether for or not for profit—are identified as “retail establishments” and are subject to the proposed ordinance.
This includes restaurants, pharmacies, convenience and grocery stores, liquor stores, seasonal and temporary businesses, jewelry and household goods stores. However, bazaars and festivals operated by nonprofit or religious groups aren’t included in the ordinance.
These businesses may provide “reusable containers,” which are defined as a container “specifically designed and manufactured for multiples reuse and is either polyester, polypropylene, cotton or other durable material or durable plastic that is at least 3 mils in thickness.”
The ordinance would be effective one year after it is approved by the city council. Retailers may be exempt from the requirements for one year if the requirements of the ordinance cause “undue hardship” to a retailer, including a lack of reasonable alternative to bags, the deprivation of a legally protected right of a consumer or if the retailer needs additional time to use current inventory of single-use plastic bags.
Retailers violating the ordinance would first get a warning, then a $50 fine for the first offense and a $100 fine for the second and all subsequent offenses.
“I’m positive there will be other situations that will need to be considered and ordinance will need to be amended. Will need to address those issues. In the meantime, we want to let the state legislature know we don’t want them to pass an unfunded mandate,” O’Quinn said.
