In January, a ban on plastic bags goes into effect in most of Montgomery County, Maryland. Only a handful of municipalities have not passed similar bans yet.
“Starting Jan. 1, plastic carryout bags will be prohibited,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said while speaking at a Rockville grocery store. “You’ll see them for some things — vegetables or meat that are already prepacked in plastic — but you’re not going to get a plastic carryout bag at the counter. You’ll no longer see single-use plastic bags at the checkout aisles in most stores in Montgomery County.”
Instead, those who forget their reusable bags will have to buy a paper bag, and the cost of those is going up to 10 cents per bag; half that will go to retailers and the other half to the county’s stormwater management fee, according to Elrich.
The new law was passed unanimously by the county council after it was introduced by Montgomery County Council member Kate Stewart.
“It became clear to us when we took office on the county council that we were actually a little behind when it came to the use of plastic bags,” Stewart said. “Many jurisdictions around the state of Maryland had already put in place bans on plastic bags and fees on paper bags, and we wanted to make sure that here in Montgomery County, we stay true to our values of protecting the environment and also protecting people’s health.”
Stewart and Elrich characterized plastic bags as both eyesores and relics that are harmful to the environment.
“It also helps prevent damage to storm drains when storm drains get clogged with plastic and because it doesn’t pass water, it can really block up a storm drain. So it should help us with unclogging our storm drains and the time when we’re fighting flooding,” Elrich said.
Stewart said 10 other jurisdictions around the state already have similar laws in place.
“We wanted to be in line with other jurisdictions because we know many of our businesses have a store, maybe in Prince George’s or Anne Arundel and here in Montgomery County,” she said.
Those who are on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or federal supplemental nutrition benefits for women, infants and children will be exempt from the new paper bag tax.
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