Last March we reported that several states were considering bans on banning plastic bags. Now our home state of Michigan has gotten in on the action, signing the ban on bans into law on December 28th.
According to The Washington Post:
Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed the new public act into law on Wednesday, along with 11 other bills. Gov. Rick Snyder is currently on vacation out of state, local news sources reported, and Calley has the authority to sign bills into law in his absence.
The new public act prohibits local ordinances from “regulating the use, disposition, or sale of, prohibiting or restricting, or imposing any fee, charge, or tax on certain containers,” including plastic bags, as well as cups, bottles and other forms of packaging. This means individual cities and municipalities are not allowed to ban plastic bags or charge customers a fee for using them.
As with many of these types of actions, opinions are mixed, with The Washington Post noting that the Michigan Restaurant Association is in favor of the ban because it prevents a “patchwork approach of additional regulations,” while Rep. Jeff Irwin, a democrat from Ann Arbor, spoke out against the bill because it “attacks local control.”
It’s worth mentioning, as we have in the past, that laws about bag bans and bans on bag bans don’t affect our products specifically, but since they do impact a closely related industry, we’ll continue to update you on these issues as they develop.