Plastic Bag Ban Wins Approval Of Minneapolis Council Committee

A proposal to ban Minneapolis stores from handing out plastic bags — and require them to charge customers for paper bags — has cleared an important hurdle at City Hall.

Monday, following a lengthy public hearing, the City Council’s Health, Environment and Community Engagement committee voted 4-0 to forward the plan to the full council. It appears the plan may have enough support to pass the 13-member council; in addition to the four committee members who voted in favor of the plan, two other council members attended the meeting to voice their support. A fifth committee member, Council Member Andrew Johnson, expressed support for the plan but abstained from voting because he intends to work on an amendment that would make the policy more “consumer and business friendly.”

If approved, the ban would take effect in April 2017 and cover all types of businesses, with a few exceptions. It would exempt several types of plastic bags, including those used to wrap produce, flowers, baked goods, takeout foods, newspapers and dry-cleaning or laundry. It would require businesses to charge customers a 5-cent fee for paper bags, though customers receiving public assistance to buy food would not be required to pay the fee.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Star Tribune