The Philadelphia plastic bag ban begins on July 1: What you need to know

Philadelphia’s ban on single-use plastic bags took effect on Thursday, July 1, after the ban was delayed for months due to the pandemic.

This The ban began with a nine-month promotional campaign and warning period Before full implementation. City officials said this is to allow companies time to prepare and comply with the law.

From October 1st, single-use plastic bags will be 100% banned, which means that from that date, retailers will no longer be able to provide them to customers.

All retail stores must post signs by August 1 to notify customers of this change.

City Council The ban was passed in December 2019, despite the pandemic Two separate six-month delays To launch, one in April 2020 and the other in January 2021.

The city is providing companies with Downloadable signage They can print and display in their store to notify customers, as well as flyers with frequently asked questions. CCity officials also hosted three virtual business information conferences, the recordings of which are still available Play online.

According to Philadelphia statistics, Philadelphians use nearly 1 billion plastic bags every year.These bags are not recyclable in Philadelphia’s single-stream residential recycling program, although they are usually marked with Recycling symbolTo show that they are.

Despite this, many single-use plastic bags are eventually thrown into residential recycling bins, which is a problem. Officials said the bags would be caught by the recycling equipment of the city’s processing facility, which resulted in 10,000 hours of work for street department employees.

In the 2018 interview What can and cannot be recycled in Philadelphia, Scott McGrath of the Street Department explained: “… Plastic bags are torn and wrapped around processing machines and systems. If you really want to recycle them, many grocery stores have containers. “

Philadelphia’s plastic bag regulations prohibit companies from providing disposable plastic bags, bags made of polylactic acid, or paper bags made of less than 40% recycled content.

Merchants can provide reusable bags made of nylon, cotton, cloth, polyester or other machine washable fabrics, or reusable plastic bags, and pThe aper bag is made of at least 40% recycled content, does not contain old fibers, and is printed with the words or phrases “recyclable” or “recycled content”.

Philadelphia companies are forbidden to provide plastic bags:

• Retail premises
• supermarket
• Convenience store
• Shop
• Service station
• Department Store
• Clothing store
• Restaurant
• Food truck
• Agricultural Market
• Delivery service

Exemptions from the Philadelphia plastic bag ban:

• Dry cleaning bag
• Bags used by retail stores to hold perishable items
• Bags sold in packages containing multiple bags, such as bags for garbage or pet waste

After the ban is implemented, there will be an education period from October 1st to March 31st. During this period, companies found to provide plastic bags to customers will be warned.

Starting April 1, non-compliant companies will be fined. The fines start at $75, and each violation will be fined separately. The city can take repeat offenders to court, and if fines are not paid, it can impose liens on businesses.

Philadelphia, Westchester, Lower Merion and Knarbers Were sued to defend their ability to enforce the plastic bag ban Rear The Pennsylvania State Assembly passed a measure to restrict the city government from enacting laws, rules, and regulations on single-use plastics.