A public hearing will be held next month in Newtown on a proposed plastic bag reduction ordinance. 

The Newtown Legislative Council approved the proposal this week to essentially ban businesses from providing single-use plastic bags, with some exceptions.  The Newtown Bee reports that the exemptions include newspaper bags, laundry dry cleaning bags, packages of bags for garbage, pet waste and yard waste, along with bags without handles that are used by consumers inside stores to package bulk items. 

Businesses would be able to charge a 10-cent user fee per paper bags.  Restaurants and establishments offering freshly prepared foods are exempted from the requirement to charge for paper bags. 

The public hearing will be June 5th at 7pm at the Newtown Municipal Center.