Town of Easton leads the Way – Other cities to follow.
discovereaston.com
Easton, MD – The plastic bag ordinance was approved by the Town via Ordinance 784, which passed on 9/6/2022 and went into effect 4/2/ 2023. The Town of Easton’s plastic bag ban prohibits retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags to customers. The ordinance can be viewed in detail here.
After one month, large scale retail establishments were asked to provide numbers of bags that had been purchasing prior to the legislation taking effect. Just a small sample revealed that over one million bags from seven establishments have been kept out of local circulation. A full press release from the town of Easton can be read here: https://discovereaston.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Plastic-bag-ban-prevents-circulation-of-1M-bags-in-first-month--Local--stardem.com_.pdf
Baltimore has led the way in this type of action, but more cities are to follow. Annapolis has introduced Bill 19-23 and other lawmakers have tried to pass statewide legislation. A bill by then Delegate Brooke Lierman, who is now Comptroller for the State of Maryland, nearly passed in 2020, according to the Sierra Club in this 2020 article. Delaware also passed a complete ban in 2019.
The Easton EDC has been supporting the communication efforts of this ordinance and the impact on our retailers. Several retailers and organizations have stepped up to promote the use of re-usable bags, include the Talbot Waterman’s Association, The Town of Easton, Plastic-Free Easton, Easton Utilities, and The Ivy Cafe.
