ordinances that mandate or encourage plastic bag recycling ; still others have also begun to discourage single-use paper bags with fee ordinances .
While only two statewide bans have passed — California and Hawaii — legislation has been introduced in most of the nation . The Rhode Island General Assembly has been considering laws aimed at reducing plastic bag consumption since 2008 . The latest , in 2020 , aimed to ban plastic bags at retail sales establishments but stalled under former House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello .
Jennie R . Romer , founder of plasticbag laws . org , a virtual clearinghouse for information about plastic bag legislation , says she fields inquiries from cities and towns all over the country thinking about joining the movement .
“ It tends to be a concern in coastal communities . A large component of plastic-bag pollution is windblown litter that winds up in waterways ,” Romer says . Once enacted , she says , “ there isn ’ t much pushback . People adapt to them quickly . We ’ re seeing changes in consumer behavior without consumers having many complaints about it .”
“ We aren ’ t going to solve any environmental problem in a town of 17,000 .... But it ’ s very doable at a municipal level .”
In Barrington , the ordinance began as a recommendation from the Conservation Commission . At a town meeting to discuss the issue , Shaw ’ s supermarket , the town ’ s largest retailer , then owned by SuperValu , surprised officials by supporting it .
“ As an organization , we are committed to educating customers on single-use bags and encouraging them to reuse or recycle them . The Barrington store was already one of the first recognized as a zero-waste store ,” says then-spokesman Steve Sylven . “ It was an opportunity to test removing plastic bags from the store .”
Now-retired councilwoman Kate Weymouth was an avid proponent for environ-
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Burrillville
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Smithfield
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Providence
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Warwick
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East Greenwich
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Exeter
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This information is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the State-Wide Multiple Listing Service . The MLS does not guarantee and is not in any way responsible for its accuracy . These properties may have been sold by other real estate companies . Data maintained by the MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market . Data is based on information from non-MLS sales , StateWide Multiple Listing Service , Inc ., MLSPIN , & SmartMLS for RI , MA , & CT for SFM , MFM , CND , VLD , & CMM listings for the period of 1 / 1 / 2020 through 12 / 31 / 2020
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2021 27