CHESTERTOWN — You may have noticed that some stores here are transitioning from plastic to paper.
That’s in line with a plastic bag ban that went into effect May 9, but will not be fully implemented until the new year.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, retail establishments in the town limits of Chestertown will be prohibited from providing plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale.
Retailers will charge a minimum of 10 cents for each paper bag provided.
The fee will be waived for paper bags containing prescriptions or medications.
Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags to avoid the bag fee and to help reduce plastic waste and litter in Chestertown.
The mayor and council on April 15 unanimously passed the single-use plastic bag ban under Ordinance No. 04-2024.
Retailers were given additional time to reduce their inventory of plastic bags, convert to paper bags and train staff.
The ban does not apply to plastic bags used solely to: 1) package bulk items including fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy or small hardware items; 2) wrap frozen foods, fish, meat or cheese; 3) wrap flowers or potted plants; 4) contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods; 5) contain a newspaper; 6) protect drycleaned garments, suits, dresses and formal wear; 7) contain ice; 8) or contain live fish, bait, insects, mollusks or crustaceans.
Excluded from the ordinance are nonprofit fraternal, civic, veterans, religious and charitable organizations.
According to the Town of Chestertown’s website, the plastic bag ban aligns closely with similar bans in Centreville, Easton and Salisbury — among other municipalities in Maryland.
The ordinance was introduced at the March 18 mayor and council meeting, when a public hearing was set for April 1.
The public hearing was pushed back two weeks because Council member Meghan Efland, who had taken the lead on the issue, was unable to attend the April 1 meeting.
Jenny Lee Freebery, chair of the town’s Environmental Committee, was the only person to speak at the April 15 public hearing. She said the committee supported the ban because of “a lot of good to be done for the environment.”
In her comments, Freebery also encouraged the use of “reusable true bags,” as compared to the thicker plastic bags that are reusable but don’t actually get reused.
Efland explained that the town had a plastic bag ban [adopted in 2011] that was lifted during the COVID pandemic because of supply chain challenges.
When the Town of Centreville enacted its plastic bag ban last year, it “sort of triggered the thoughts that we need to get back on board with this,” Efland said. “And we have a lot of the same stores, chain stores and things like that, which had been the bigger obstacles in the past.”
She said it was with intention that the ban was being revisited in April because that is when Earth Day is celebrated.
Efland made the motion to pass the ordinance, which was seconded by Council member Jose Medrano. The motion passed without discussion and without dissent.
Ordinance No. 04-2024 repealed in its entirety and re-enacted Chapter 133 — plastic bag reduction — of the town code for the purpose of updating the restrictions of the use of and supply of plastic bags at retail establishments
Any retail establishment found in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a civil infraction subject to a fine.
For more information, contact Town Manager Larry DiRe at 410-778-0500.
To learn more about the plastic bag ban, see https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:ef9a51cd-baf6-43b4-bc19-c724fae19aea?viewer%21megaVerb=group-discover