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Local lawmaker touts eventual single-use plastic bag ban

The state budget imposes a 10-cent surcharge on single-use plastic bags and a subsequent ban beginning July 2021.  This comes after a growing number of Connecticut communities took or are considering taking action on their own to ban single-use plastic bags at grocery stores to help protect the environment.

Currently Stamford, Westport and Greenwich have banned single-use plastic bags.  Wilton Senator Will Haskell says consumer behavior has changed over the past decade.  He called it smart public policy that should be scaled up to the state level.  Weston and Redding are considering bans, but waiting to see what happens by the end of the General Assembly session. 

Haskell says Connecticut shouldn't have a piecemeal approach.

The Connecticut Food Association says with 169 municipalities, a one-by-one plan doesn’t make sense, is not broad enough, makes it difficult for retailers to comply, and is confusing for consumers.

National chains Costco and Aldi, which both have stores in Connecticut, do not provide free single-use plastic bags.  An estimated 100 billion single-use plastic bags are thrown away in the U.S every year and less than 5 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

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Dave Rinelli

Local Headlines