Philadelphia introduces plastic bag ban

Philadelphia is considering banning the bag.

On June 20, Philadelphia City Council took a first step in tackling single-use plastic pollution by introducing legislation to ban grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores from giving out plastic bags. Each year, Americans use nearly 1 billion plastic grocery bags, yet only 1 percent of them are estimated to be recycled. The rest end up in our landfills, incinerators and contaminating our environment. PennEnvironment worked closely with the bill’s primary sponsor, City Councilman Mark Squilla, and other groups to draft the legislation.

“Plastic bags are the poster child for the environmental harm caused by single-use plastics,” said PennEnvironment Executive Director David Masur. “Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to litter our communities, pollute our environment, and fill our landfills and incinerators for hundreds of years to come.”

PennEnvironment’s support for the measure was covered in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Tribune, and on WHYY.

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Photo: On June 20, Philadelphia City Council took a first step in tackling single-use plastic pollution. Credit: Great-Beyond via Flickr CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0.