[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Easttown 6-20-2022 by Ord. No. 451-22. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the use of single-use,
plastic carry-out bags by commercial establishments within Easttown
Township (the "Township"); curb litter on the streets, in the parks,
and in the trees; protect the local streams, rivers, waterways and
other aquatic environments; reduce greenhouse gas emissions and solid
waste generation; promote the use of reusable, compostable, and recyclable
materials within the Township; and preserve the natural, scenic, historic,
and esthetic values of the Township.
B.
Findings.
(1)
The use of single-use, plastic carry-out bags has severe environmental
impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, litter, harm to wildlife,
water consumption, and solid waste generation.
(2)
There are numerous commercial establishments within the Township
which provide single-use, plastic carry-out bags to their customers.
(3)
Most single-use, plastic carry-out bags are made from plastic or
other material that does not readily decompose.
(4)
Approximately 100,000,000,000 single-use, plastic carry-out bags
are discarded by United States consumers each year. In the Township,
such bags are not readily recyclable.
(5)
Numerous studies have documented the prevalence of single-use, plastic
carry-out bags littering the environment, blocking storm drains, entering
local waterways, and becoming stuck in or upon natural resources and
public property.
(6)
The taxpayers of the Township pay the costs related to the cleanup
of single-use, plastic carry-out bags from the roadways, trees, sewers,
waters, and parks within the Township.
(7)
From an overall environmental and economic perspective, the best
alternative to single-use, plastic carry-out bags is a shift to reusable,
compostable, or recyclable paper bags.
(8)
There are several alternatives to single-use, plastic carry-out bags
readily available in and around the Township.
(9)
Single-use paper bag manufacturing, transportation, and resource
consumption also affects the environment, but such bags are biodegradable
and single-stream recyclable, and provide a practical retail establishment
alternative consistent with most local and state single-use, plastic
regulations and prohibitions. Although preferable to single-use, plastic
bags, the overall effects of producing, providing, and allowing single-use
paper bags should also be mitigated to reduce waste, litter, and natural
resource depletion by encouraging, facilitating, and promoting reusable
bag use.
(10)
Studies and past experiences have shown that placing a mandatory
charge on paper bags will promote and encourage the use of reusable
bags, and prohibiting or otherwise regulating the use of single-use,
plastic carry-out bags will significantly reduce the use and waste
of such items.
(11)
As required by the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania
Constitution, the Township seeks to preserve the natural, scenic,
historic, and aesthetic values of the Township.
(12)
The Board of Supervisors (the "Board") desire to conserve resources;
reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, waste, litter, water
pollution; and protect the public health and welfare, including wildlife
- all of which increase the quality of life for the Township's
residents and visitors.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply unless the context clearly requires and unambiguously
dictates otherwise:
Any store or retail establishment that sells perishable or
nonperishable goods, including, but not limited to, clothing, food,
and personal items, directly to the customer, and is located within
or doing business within the geographical limits of the Township.
Commercial establishments include: a business establishment that generates
a sales or use tax; a drugstore, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store,
farmers market, convenience food store, food mart, or other commercial
entity engaged in the retail sale of a limited line of goods that
include milk, bread, soda and snack foods; a public eating establishment
(i.e., a restaurant, take-out food establishment, or any other business
that prepares and sells prepared food to be eaten on or off its premises);
and a business establishment that sells clothing, hardware, or any
other nonperishable goods.
Certain paper carry-out bags and reusable bags:
A paper bag that meets all the following minimum requirements:
It is considered a recyclable material, based on the Township
Code, as the same may be amended from time to time; contains a minimum
of 40% post-consumer recycled material; and displays the words "recyclable"
and/or "reusable" in a highly visible manner on the outside of the
bag; or
It can be composted. To qualify as "compostable," the specifications
for the bag shall have been submitted to and been approved by the
Township Environmental Advisory Council; or have met an applicable
federal, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, American Society for Testing
and Materials or other generally recognized and acceptable standard
for being compostable.
Any person purchasing goods or services from a commercial
establishment.
A bag used inside a commercial establishment by a customer
to deliver perishable items to the point-of-sale at that establishment.
Exempted bags shall include:
A bag used to package bulk items such as fruit, vegetables,
nuts, grains, or candy;
A bag used to contain or wrap meats or fish, or to contain unwrapped
prepared foods or bakery goods;
A bag used solely to contain live animals, such as fish or insects
sold in a pet store; and/or
A bag sold in packaging containing multiple bags and intended
for use as food storage bags, garbage bags, or pet waste bags, and
packaged at the time of manufacture of the bag.
The owner, person in control, or person having responsibility
for, the operation of a commercial establishment, which may include,
but is not limited to, the owner of the commercial establishment.
A synthetic material made from linking monomers through a
chemical reaction to create a polymer chain that can be molded or
extruded at high heat into various solid forms that retain their defined
shapes during their life cycle and after disposal, including material
derived from either petrochemicals or a biologically based polymer,
such as corn or other plant sources.
A material that would otherwise be destined for solid waste
disposal, having completed its intended end use and product life cycle.
This term does not include materials and by-products generated from
and commonly reused within an original manufacturing and fabrication
process.
Material that can be sorted, cleansed, and reconstituted
using available recycling collection programs for the purpose of reusing
the altered, incinerated, converted, or otherwise thermally destroyed
solid waste generated therefrom.
Any bag that is made predominantly of plastic that is made
through a blown-film extrusion process, which is provided by an operator
of a commercial establishment to a customer at the point-of-sale,
but not including an exempted bag.
Easttown Township.
Effective January 1, 2023, no commercial establishment shall provide to any customer a single-use, plastic carry-out bag, as defined in § 320-2 above. This prohibition applies to bags provided for the purpose of carrying goods away from the point-of-sale. This prohibition applies to single-use, plastic carry-out bags used for takeout deliveries from commercial establishments within the Township. The point-of-sale in such transactions shall be the commercial establishment, regardless of where payment for the transaction physically or electronically occurs.
A.
Beginning January 1, 2023, commercial establishments are prohibited
from providing a noncompliant bag to a customer at the commercial
establishment or through a delivery.
B.
A commercial establishment may provide a customer a compliant bag
at the point-of-sale if the bag is provided to the customer for a
charge of not less than $0.15 per bag.
C.
All monies collected by a commercial establishment under this section
for provision of a recycled paper bag shall be retained by the commercial
establishment.
D.
Any charge for a compliant bag shall be separately stated on any
receipt provided to the customer at the time of sale and shall be
identified as the "carry-out bag charge" thereon.
E.
Customers may use bags of any type, which they bring to the commercial
establishment themselves, for the purpose of carrying goods or other
materials away from the point-of-sale without incurring a fee for
a compliant bag.
Beginning January 1, 2023, and for a minimum of six months thereafter,
commercial establishments shall post at all points-of-sale conspicuous
signage informing customers that single-use, plastic carry-out bags
and nonrecycled paper bags will no longer be provided by the establishment
as of the date the prohibition begins; explaining what types of bags
and purchases are impacted; and providing any other information the
Township may require by regulation.
The Township may, upon written request of a commercial establishment,
exempt a commercial establishment from the requirements of this chapter
until July 1, 2023 upon a finding by the Board that the requirements
of this chapter would cause undue hardship to the commercial establishment.
An "undue hardship" shall be found only if the commercial establishment
demonstrates that it has a unique circumstance or situation such that
there are no reasonable alternatives to the use of single-use, plastic
carry-out bags.
A.
The Township Manager or his/her designee(s), has the responsibility
for enforcement of this chapter and may promulgate reasonable rules
and regulations to enforce the provisions thereof, including, but
not limited to, investigating violations and issuing fines.
B.
Any commercial establishment that violates or fails to comply with
any of the requirements of this chapter, after an initial written
warning notice has been issued for that violation, shall be liable
for a violation.
C.
Any commercial establishment that receives an initial written warning notice may file a request for an exemption pursuant to the procedure in § 320-6 above.
D.
If a commercial establishment has subsequent violations of this chapter
after the issuance of an initial written warning notice of violation,
the Township may issue the following penalties that shall be payable
by the operator of the commercial establishment:
E.
For the purposes of enforcement under this section, an offense shall
be each occurrence of a person, customer, operator, and/or commercial
establishment violating a requirement of this chapter.
F.
In addition to the penalties set forth in this chapter, the Township
may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable relief to enforce this
chapter.
