Lawrence city commissioners indicated Tuesday that they will likely approve a ban on single-use plastic bags when a revision of the ordinance comes back to them in the near future. The Sustainability Advisory Board has long discussed options aiming to reduce the use of plastics in the city, which in turn could help reduce the city’s dependence on fossil fuels and prevent some pollution from the bags, contamination through microplastics from bags’ degradation, and animal deaths from eating the bags, among other concerns. … Produce bags or product bags used to prevent contamination or damage would still be allowed under the proposed ordinance. Reusable bags would be exempted from the ban, and single-use disposable paper bags would still be allowed. Kathy Richardson, the city’s director of sustainability, told commissioners on Tuesday that the Sustainability Advisory Board also wanted to add language requiring that any paper bags or reusable plastic bags sold or distributed be made of 40% post-consumer recycled content, “which many other cities also require,” Richardson said. Sprouts in Lawrence sells reusable bags that fit that description for 10 cents apiece, she said. Commissioners on Tuesday said they wanted to see the 40% PCRC information written into the ordinance before they consider final approval.
Source: The Lawrence Times