While some state legislators are looking to bolster Maine's ban on single-use plastic bags, others say the ban should be repealed entirely.
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee today heard public testimony on bills to eliminate the five-cent fee for bags, increase the fee, bans on thicker plastic bags deemed "reusable," and a measure sponsored by Rep. Barbara Bagshaw to repeal the law.
"Plastic bags are popular with a lot of people and we should try to — we shouldn't try to overregulate, we should allow them to have their freedoms and to use the products, especially since we don't have a suitable replacement for them," Bagshaw said.
She said that while many supporters of the ban attribute litter to plastic bags, the ban has not directly affected the problem. And Bagshaw argued, reusable bags can carry bacteria.
Rep. Sophia Warren sponsored the bill to ban thicker plastic bags and increase the bag fee to ten cents. She said when the law went into effect in 2019, some retailers began offering thicker plastic bags.
"When these bans were first introduced, including here in Maine, plastic bags labeled as 'reusable' were given exemptions," Warren said. "However, years later, studies revealed that these bags are rarely reused, and when they are its typically only once or twice."
She said thicker plastic bags often clog waste facility systems, and all plastic bags harm the environment and human health. To truly uphold the intent of the ban, Warren said, the state must close this loophole.
