Individuals and groups in Cache County have worked for years to put a ban on all single-use plastics, but this year, the Utah State Legislature could be standing in the way.
There's been a trend that national and local companies will incentivize its customers to encourage reusable bag use, as well as other forms of plastic-reducing practices. For example, Smith’s Grocery Store offers extra fuel points to those who bring their own reusable bags.
Paul Rogers, a local citizen in Logan, worries about the detrimental environmental effects of disposable plastics and sees that through banning the use of single-use plastics, Cache County could make a contribution in cleaning up the planet.
“They tend to blow all over so they leave the landfill and cause other problems and then eventually they make their way downstream and even into our oceans which is a massive world problem," Rogers said. "They dissolve into what’s called microplastics and can really mess up full ecosystems and they don’t decompose for hundreds if not thousands of years.”
While many citizens in Logan find this beneficial to the rising environmental pollution, many businesses are opposed because of the price to switch from cheap plastics to reusable bags. Not only are businesses worried about losing revenue, but the Utah State Legislature is concerned that if Cache County passes this bill, it would cause trouble when it comes down to the consistency and the uniformity of deliveries for different counties.
Representative Michael McKell proposed House Bill 320, the Container Regulation Act, which if passed, would ban local municipalities from banning the use of single-use plastics. State Representative Joel Ferry voted in favor of House Bill 320, saying that the government is not trying to take away local control, rather the government wants to give more control to the individual.
“This is really a personal choice issue. If you need a plastic bag, if you don't want to use those, you can make that choice as an individual and not be forced or told what can and can't do by a local city, or county, or even the state," Representative Ferry said.
On Monday, House Bill 320 passed out of the Natural Resources and Environment Committee and will be moved along to the house of representatives.
