Pittsburgh Joins Philadelphia in Banning Plastic Bags

The two largest cities in Pennsylvania have prohibited single-use plastics at businesses after Pittsburgh City Council passed legislation on Tuesday, joining Philadelphia’s ban approved last year. 

“This landmark piece of legislation will sharply curtail litter, mitigate stormwater risk, reduce the amount of microplastics in our soil and water, improve the city’s recycling efficacy, and begin to break our dependence on fossil fuel-based products,” Councilwoman Erika Strassburger said in a press release.

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Public Hearing Scheduled to Consider Plastic Bag Tax in Roanoke

The Roanoke City Council is considering a five-cent tax on disposable plastic bags, like grocery store or convenience store bags. On Monday, the Council agreed to schedule a public hearing on April 19.

The tax was legalized by the 2020 General Assembly. HB 534, introduced by Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond), and SB 11, introduced by Senator Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), authorize localities to enact five-cent taxes on disposable plastic bags and require the localities to use revenue from the tax for environmental cleanup and to provide re-usable bags.

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Commentary: Plastic Bags and the Recycling and Reuse Scam

Back in 2014, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 207, which banned grocery stores from offering customers “single-use” carryout bags. Permanent implementation was delayed by a November 2016 voter referendum, Proposition 67, which unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the measure. Today it is well-established law.

The only way SB 207 was sold to the grocery industry was through an incentive that permitted them to keep the 10 cents per “reusable” bag that they would be required to charge customers.

California’s pioneering ban is touted by environmentalists as an example for the nation, and progressive cities and states have enacted similar laws. But in reality, it is a misguided policy that does more harm than good.

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Commentary: The Seven Worst Ideas for Regulation This Century

by David R. Henderson   Many good things have happened both in the United States and worldwide this century. In the U.S., we have the lowest unemployment rate in half a century. Worldwide prosperity is growing so fast that the rate of extreme poverty fell by half between 1990 and 2015, five years ahead of the World Bank’s optimistic goal. The bad news is that along with great economic performance has come a good bit of silly, one might even call it stupid, regulation and proposals for regulation. Here are my top seven for the United States, although I’m open to hearing about other, even stupider ones. 1. Interest rate cap on credit cards. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez want the federal government to cap interest rates charged by credit card companies at 15 percent. The likely results will be that people with no credit history or poor credit will have more difficulty getting credit cards and will, instead, resort to layaway plans, pawn shops, payday loans, and even loan sharks. 2. Rent control. Oregon’s government recently passed a statewide rent-control law. It is hard to find an economist not currently living in a rent-controlled apartment who will…

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Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Council Expected to Pass Countywide Ban on Plastic Bags

  The Cuyahoga County Council is showing signs of supporting an ordinance that would ban the use of single-use plastic bags in the county. The council’s Education, Environment, and Sustainability Committee discussed the ban during a meeting last week, and all members expressed support. Council President Dan Brady told The Cleveland Plain Dealer that he supports the ban, meaning the measure now has the six votes necessary to secure a majority of the 11-member council. “We as a council dealt with this issue for quite a while some time ago. We’ve learned a lot, we’ve worked it through. I believe we’ve got a proposal with broad consensus, and so I just wanted to indicate that I’m certainly in support and I would like my name to be added as a cosponsor,” Brady said to applause during Wednesday’s committee meeting. If passed, the ban wouldn’t go into effect until October 1 so that retailers have time to adjust to the ban. For each day a retailer fails to comply, they would be subjected to a written warning, followed by a $100 fine and a $500 fine. “We’ve heard from the community, there’s broad support and I think it’s time to move…

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