Eliminating single-use plastics as much as possible will be the subject of a special public meeting of the Newtown Township Environmental Advisory Council Monday, April 3.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the main meeting room of the township administration building, just off Route 413.
At a recent Newtown Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Elen Snyder – liaison to the EAC – urged residents and business representatives to attend Monday’s EAC meeting to hear about the township’s progress in developing a single-use plastics ordinance and give their input. Among the materials available at the meeting will be a sample ordinance, she added.
One of the primary examples of a single-use plastic are the plastic bags at supermarkets, convenience stores and other retailers which many people throw away after bringing their purchases home, Snyder said. Plastics are not biodegradable and can pose hazards to the environment, among other negative impacts, scientists have said.
“In general, we’re trying to eliminate waste, and single-use plastic bags are the biggest,” said Snyder at the supervisors meeting. “We have educated ourselves on every aspect of this issue and are ready to inform.
“Land use and zoning were not the only things we were elected for. We are going to try, with your help, to make Newtown Township a better place for all its citizens.”
Credit: Chris English/NewtownPANow.com
An ordinance regulating the use of single-use plastic bags in Doylestown Borough that was approved by borough council in December and will be implemented in late June states that “beginning on the implementation date, retail establishments are prohibited from providing a single-use plastic bag to a customer at the retail establishment or through a delivery.”
It also prohibits retailers from providing non-recycled paper bags after the implementation date, either at the establishment or through a delivery.
“The borough wishes to encourage the use of sustainable products and services,” the ordinance states. “Single-use plastic bags do not readily decompose. The use of single-use plastic bags has severe environmental impacts, including litter, harm to wildlife, greenhouse gas emissions, ground level ozone formation, atmospheric acidification, water consumption and solid waste generation.”
Among many other provisions, the ordinance also cites the difficulty of recycling single-use plastic bags.
“Such bags are not curbside recyclable and only a small percentage of plastic bags are returned for recycling,” it states.
