City of Salisbury Amends Plastic Bag Ban to Exclude Some Purchases From Alternative Bag Charge
Some purchases will be excluded from the mandatory $0.10 fee charged for each alternative bag, such as a paper bag, distributed at check out–thanks to the City of Salisbury’s amendment to the Comprehensive Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance (No. 2827), or the Shop Green SBY Initiative. City officials have listened to local businesses — some of which already provided paper bags to customers at no cost. The all-inclusive nature of the ordinance language affected those businesses. The Mayor’s Office and City Council have worked together to alleviate the requirement that some businesses charge for paper bags.
Additional Information from the City of Salisbury:
The following language has been added to the ordnance via amendment:
“Exclusions. A retail establishment shall not collect a charge required under 5.69.020(B), for any paper bag (i) a food service facility gives a customer or third party delivery service to take food sliced or prepared to order from the food service facility; (ii) a pharmacy gives to a patient or customer that contains a prescription drug; or (iii) which constitutes an essential part of the packaging of the product, the product itself, or which was packaged in such manner at the time of manufacture.”
For more information on Shop Green SBY, please visit the dedicated page on the City’s website.
