Plastic Bag Ban: Info Sessions to Help Businesses Comply

SOMERVILLE, MA - Somerville's plastic bag ban will go into effect later this year and the city is holding four informational sessions to help local businesses comply.

Concerns about the harm plastic bags can do to wildlife and the environment prompted Board of Aldermen to pass the ordinances banning them last year.

Starting on Sept. 1, stores that are 10,000 square feet or more will no longer be allowed to give customers plastic bags at the checkout counter; the ordinance will apply to all Somerville retailers starting Dec. 1. This will give smaller "mom-and-pop shops" a chance to use up their plastic bag supply.

At the upcoming informational sessions city officials will tell businesses how to best follow the ordinances, what kinds of plastic bags will still be allowed, and what alternative bags are available.

“We’ll address specific questions that business owners have for their own circumstances,” Maxwell MacCarthy, the city’s Urban Revitalization Specialist, said in a city news release. “We’ll guide them through the options for their specific type of business and the specific type of bags they now use.’”

The first two sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, May 10 from 10 to 11 a.m., and Thursday, May 26 from 5 to 6 p.m. The second two will be held after the first phase of the ordinance takes effect. They are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 10 to 11 a.m., and Thursday, Sept. 29, from 6 to 7 p.m. All sessions will take place in the second-floor Aldermen’s chambers at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave.

See a list of sustainable bag vendors>>>

Photo via Flickr