Baltimore moves closer to banning throwaway plastic bags

They cling to Baltimore’s trees, litter the city’s streets and end up polluting the Chesapeake Bay. And they may soon be a thing of the past.

After an Aug. 6 hearing, the Baltimore City Council will soon decide the fate of a bill banning disposable plastic bags. The bill enjoys “supermajority” support—enough to override a mayoral veto. Under the bill, grocery and retail store customers could bring their own reusable bags or purchase a non-plastic bag for five cents. Maryland PIRG and our coalition partner, Environment Maryland, submitted joint written testimony at the hearing.

“Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our communities and the bay for hundreds of years—especially when we don’t really need it,” wrote Maryland PIRG State Director Emily Scarr.

Environment Maryland also supports the bag ban, and will be delivering nearly 1,000 signatures in favor to the council, the council president and the mayor.

Read our testimony. 

Photo: Maryland PIRG Director Emily Scarr (center left) and other supporters stand alongside Councilman Bill Henry, the bill’s sponsor. Credit: Staff