Categories: Philly

Plastic Bag Ban Banned: Pro-Plastic Philadelphia & ShopRite Protests?

City Council voted against the plastic bag ban the Committee on the Environment passed last week. According to Philly.com, Councilman Frank DiCicco’s bill was rejected by Council this morning in a 6-10 vote.

Word is that protesters such as ShopRite and the plastics industry lobbied against the bill, causing its demise. Opponents to the bill claimed that banning plastic bags would force many stores to use paper, which “has an even greater environmental impact.”  (this is debatable, but the eco-friendliest option is to BYO(re-usable)B.)

Mayor Nutter better get cracking on this if he wants Philadelphia to be an environmental pioneer – Other cities are ahead of us with similar bans.

Ironically, today is also Mark Alan’s Hughes last day as Director of Sustainability.

Posted by Julie

Julie Hancher

Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake.

Recent Posts

Greening Avenue of the Arts, July 4th heat wave, & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news: New beautification efforts along Broad Street. Construction of…

3 days ago

Urban trees aren’t just nice, scientists say — they’re mandatory

"This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here." They…

4 days ago

Mussels clean canal, new housing budget, & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news: Mussels clean the Manayunk Canal. Once trash-filled and…

1 week ago

Dinosaur Trail path to connect Gloucester County towns and institutions

A multi-use trail would allow pedestrians and bikes to travel from Rowan University to the…

2 weeks ago

Floatlab on Schuylkill, PGW debates electric vs gas future, new pedestrian safety measures & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:  Heat health emergency ends. Last week, the Department…

2 weeks ago

Aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and pollution: Why drinking water is under pressure

Pennsylvania’s century-old water infrastructure faces modern climate threats. Here’s why it’s complicated. The U.S. has…

3 weeks ago