RI’s plastic bag ban took effect Jan. 1
By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News
staff
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In some municipalities, this will be nothing new.
Eighteen of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns have plastic bag bans.
Those who violate the law will be
fined $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second, and $500 for the third
and any subsequent violations. Municipalities will be allowed to keep all
penalties they collect, and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management will oversee enforcement.
According to the secretary of state’s website, “Any retail sales establishment that fails to meet the requirements of these regulations will be subject to administrative penalties … All penalties listed may be assessed on a per-day basis counted from the initial day of noncompliance until compliance is achieved.”
Dave McLaughlin, DEM’s sustainability coordinator, said
if someone sees a violation of the law, they should report it to municipal
officials first.
“If an individual makes a determination that this law is being violated, they can report it to the local municipal government,” he said, although exactly who to report it to remains unclear.
“An explicit designation
of whom to report to in each municipality is not defined (39 municipalities
have varying organization structures and may elect to delegate this task as
they wish),” McLaughlin wrote in a recent email to ecoRI News. DEM has a FAQ
section on the new law here.
The law gives municipalities leeway in how they enforce
it. Once they have investigated a compliant, “Municipalities … may issue oral
and written warnings, notices of violation, and engage in any other enforcement
of this section as they deem appropriate. After taking action, a municipality
may refer any alleged violations of this section to the [DEM] for further
enforcement,” according to the law.
McLaughlin said once a violation is reported to DEM, the
agency “may investigate these referrals.”
Retail establishments — defined by the law as retail
stores, flea markets, restaurants, and other food-service establishments — that
have received notice of a violation may appeal. Farmers markets, bazaars,
festivals, and yard and tag sales are not considered retail sales
establishments, according to the law.
A “reusable bag,” according to the law, is a bag with
stitched handles designed for 125 or more reuses, and is made primarily of
washable cloth, other durable woven or nonwoven fabric, polyester,
polypropylene, or other durable plastic.
Some types of bags are excluded from the ban, including
the bags used to hold vegetables, pastry, bread, or meat in supermarkets,
newspaper delivery bags, laundry or dry cleaning bags, and store-bought garbage
bags, among others. A full list can be found here.
“Eliminating the retail distribution of single-use
plastic bags helps prevent litter and plastic debris from entering Narragansett
Bay and our local waters, which are central to the Ocean State’s environment,
way of life, and economy,” DEM director Terry Gray said.
McLaughlin said, “The results so far in the 18
municipalities [that already had plastic bag bans] are that community reporting
of violations has been effective at addressing the violations.”
What about the thousands of plastic bags already
purchased by retail stores prior to the law’s passage?
Because the law was passed in 2022, McLaughlin said,
“That provided ample lead time for retail establishments to adjust their
purchasing patterns and use up existing inventory.”
Businesses that have leftover plastic bags, McLaughin
said, can donate them to stores or businesses that are exempt from the bag ban.