Bellingham City Council begins discussion of single-use plastic ban
Single-use plastics such as eating utensils, dishes, condiment containers, straws and personal-care items would be banned starting next year under a measure being considered Monday at the Bellingham City Council meeting.
Limits on single-use plastic items are part of a measure scheduled for discussion during the council’s Public Works and Natural Resources Committee session at 1:45 p.m. Monday. It’s being held in the Whatcom County Council Chambers at 311 Grand Ave. because of construction at Bellingham City Hall.
“In my view, plastics have their place primarily in durable goods that we want to last, rather than as throw-away plastics that become instant garbage,” committee chairman Michael Lilliquist wrote The Bellingham Herald in an email. “Throw-way plastics are both wasteful and increasingly expensive to dispose of, and in almost all cases cannot be recycled. And more and more of it is littering our community and choking our waterways. We can do better.”
Lilliquist’s comments are supported by data in a city report that’s included in the committee’s agenda.
That report cites a study from Science Advances magazine that says 6,300 million metric tons of plastic was made from 1950 to 2015, and only 9% has been recycled. Some 12% was burned and 79% remains in landfills or in the environment as litter.
“It seems wise to me that we return to older alternatives such as lined paper cups, as well as adopt newer alternatives that do not create permanent landfill problems,” Lilliquist wrote. “A quick look around will show you dozens of business outlets offering better, more sustainable alternatives for the food service industry. This won’t be that hard.”
He said city officials have been working on the issue for about a year and that he expects the council to hold a public hearing soon.
“Councilmember Dan Hammill has been doing most of the outreach and discussion with community members and affected stakeholders,” Lilliquist wrote.
Bellingham already bans single-use plastic grocery bags.
Similar limits on plastic products have been growing across the West and Northeast, and other states have passed laws that limit cities’ ability to ban single-use plastics, according to an August 2019 article in National Geographic magazine.
If the measure is approved:
▪ Most single-use plastics — such as plates, utensils and bowls, will be banned starting Jan. 1, 2021.
▪ Exemptions can be made for disability accommodation.
▪ Allowable single-use items will be available on request only.
▪ Durable products will be required for dine-in eating effective Oct. 1, 2021. Some exceptions may be allowed.
▪ Single-use hotel products will be banned effective Oct. 1, 2021.
▪ Exemptions include prepackaged food service items.
▪ Exemptions may be allowed if a hardship can be demonstrated.
According to the measure, the city must provide education and assistance to businesses to help them comply with the ordinance.
Education will be prioritized over enforcement, but repeat violators may be subject to fines.
