BELFAST, Maine — Activists criticized a proposed fee on plastic bags in Belfast, saying the measure doesn’t go far enough.
City councilors ironed out a draft version of a plastic bag ordinance during a meeting Tuesday night that would tack on a 5-cent fee for every fresh single-use plastic bag — but only at three stores.
The restriction only applies to stores that cover more than 10,000 square feet and sell at least 2 percent of their merchandise as food products. In Belfast, that includes Hannaford, Ocean State Job Lots and Reny’s.
“We’re disappointed that it’s not more far reaching to include small businesses,” said Anita Young, a Belfast resident who heads up the group Ban the Bag Belfast, which formed last summer to push to find ways to reduce plastic pollution in the waters around Belfast Bay.
The group wanted an outright citywide ban on single-use plastic bags, Young said, but the fee at the three largest distributors of bags would be “better than nothing.”
Councilors grappled with a number of questions on Tuesday night, such as whether the fee should be higher or whether stores should be required to provide washable reuseable bags for sale.
Councilor John Arrison said he was concerned that a 5-cent fee wouldn’t change much, and that the fee may need to be higher to force people to bring reusable bags.
The early version of the ordinance also doesn’t have any teeth when it comes to enforcement. Any store caught violating the ordinance would receive a warning, but the council opted not to include any fines in its initial draft. Those could be added later, but the hope is that the ordinance will serve primarily as an educational tool, according to Councilor Eric Sanders.
Hannaford and Reny’s already operate stores in southern Maine communities that have established similar fees. During the past two years, six municipalities in southern Maine have either banned or taxed single-use plastic bags: Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, York, Kennebunk and Freeport.
In Freeport, which banned plastic bags, if shoppers forget their reusable bags, they can purchase a single-use paper bag for a nickel. York and Kennebunk also have banned single-use plastic bags. Portland, Falmouth and South Portland instituted a nickel-per-plastic-bag fee.
In Belfast, customers who forget to bring reusable bags still could request paper without a fee under the ordinance. Ban the Bags Belfast also has lined up a few grants to provide reusable bags for people who might struggle to afford them.
The fee doesn’t include smaller plastic bags used to wrap meat and produce.
The City Council will host a public hearing on the draft, likely during its next regular meeting on Tuesday, March 7. The ordinance could change with public input, City Manager Joe Slocum said.
Ultimately, Ban the Bag advocates say they hope this ordinance will bring about future efforts and education to reduce consumption of single-use plastics and petroleum products — such as Styrofoam and plastic eating utensils.
“Plastic bags are just one part of a larger problem, but it’s a start,” Young said.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.
BDN writer Abigail Curtis contributed to this report.