The North Royalton City Council unanimously adopted legislation that bans the Cuyahoga County ban on plastic bags. North Royalton now joins cities, such as Independence, Strongsville and North Olmsted, who have also opted out of the ban.
The measure was brought up by Ward 1 Council Representative John Nickell at the May 19 Council Building and Building Codes Committee. He stated that he thinks that people should have a choice. “I would like to have options, not having the County Council passing laws and inflicting them on the cities.” A resident addressed the committee, saying that paper bags are not necessarily environmentally friendly. Several Council members said that several corporate grocery store chains have banned them and are not planning to bring them back. Previously, members of the Building and Building Codes committee had asked for legislation that would have North Royalton opt out of the ban. That legislation was introduced by previous Mayor Bob Stefanik in December, 2019, but sponsorship was then withdrawn in January, 2020.
Members of the Cuyahoga County Council approved their ban on disposable plastic shopping bags, after the legislation was amended that extended the time for when the measure was to be enacted. The ban was set to take effect on January 1, 2020. The original County bag ban legislation had the start date as October 1, 2019, but was changed to allow those retail establishments time to prepare for and adjust to the change. That date was again changed to July 1, 2020, providing for a six-month grace period for retailers to work with bag vendors and allow for time for consumers to get used to the idea of bringing their own shopping bags. The ban was again suspended, due to Covid, as there were fears that it could spread with the use of personal carrier bags. The ban then took effect as of January 16, 2022.
According to the Cuyahoga County website, “The kind of bags that are prohibited are disposable plastic bags (made from either non-compostable plastic or compostable plastic) that are provided by a Retail Establishment to a customer at point of sale for the purpose of transporting purchased items.” The retailers affected “ include supermarkets and grocery stores, convenience stores, department stores, drug stores, service stations, stores and shops, and any other sales outlets where a customer can buy goods and/or food.” Bags that are permitted are “paper bags, which are 100% recyclable and manufactured from at least 40% recycled content and reusable bags that are specifically intended for multiple reuses and is made of cloth, fiber, or other machine washable fabric. They must be at least 2.25 mils thick and capable of carrying a minimum of 18 pounds with at least 75 uses per bag.”
There was discussion regarding large grocery stores, such as Giant Eagle, not bringing the plastic bags back due to a corporate decision, now all retailers in North Royalton do have the option to do so.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer