A Baltimore City Council committee voted to amend a proposed ban on plastic bags so that it only applies to particularly thin bags. The amendment reduced the proposed threshold for banned bags from 4 mils — a mil is one thousandth of an inch — to 2.25 mils. Retailers say bags that are 2.25 mils are reusable, and so should not be banned.
Environmentalists say such bags are barely distinguishable from the thinner grocery bags that can be found strewn throughout the community, and often enter the waste stream after a single use — just like the more common, thinner bags that still would be banned.
Democratic Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, vice chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, called the proposal “ridiculous” and asked that it be tabled so that members could have more time to consider it. She was particularly concerned she hadn’t heard of the proposed change before Monday’s meeting. Democratic Councilwoman Shannon Sneed asked committee members to delay any vote until they could examine bags of different thicknesses.
Democratic Councilman Bill Henry, the bill’s sponsor, worried retailers “could just continue to use plastic bags” under the amended language. He also said the added thickness of the permitted bags would not be enough to encourage their reuse by customers — leaving the city much in the same position as it is now.