Reusable Bags for Rhode Island!

JUNE 27, 2022 UPDATE (2)

Unfortunately, the flawed bag bill was transmitted to the Governor and signed on 6/27/22.

It is highly unlikely that the legislature will pick this issue up again in the near future, given how long it took to pass this into law. This means that we'll be stuck with this bad bag law for years to come.

Thanks to all who tried to help reshape the bill into working policy! We hope you will get more involved with the Surfrider RI Chapter: ri@surfrider.org. 

HISTORIC ACCOUNT

JUNE 27, 2022 UPDATE (1)

Unfortunately, the flawed bag bill was transmitted to the Governor ON 6/27/22.

—>Please email the Governor to ask him NOT to sign H.7065 Sub A / S.2446, which will create bad bag law in the Ocean State!

Fill out this online form governor.ri.gov/contact and be sure to note that you support good plastic bag reduction laws, but this bill falls short due to the lack of needed amendments (see below). 

Amendments Needed to Pass a Working Bag Law:

1. Mandate a specific program to accommodate accessibility to free reusable bags for financially challenged communities, families and individuals rather than the current framing of urging free giveaways without limitation, which promotes excess; and,
2. Include the mandatory, uniform fee on paper bags that data proves is necessary to properly incentivize reusable bags; and,
3. Include a mandatory, minimum fee for all reusable bags sold, which data proves is necessary to prevent allowable 4 mils plastic bags or other plastic, “reusable” bags from becoming the new “go-to” bag, rather than the intended shift to proper reusable bags.

Thanks!

JUNE 10, 2022 UPDATE

Unfortunately, the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted on June 8th to recommend passage in concurrence with the Senate on S.2446 and H.7065 Sub A, a plastic bag ban bill that fails to properly account for abating potential inequities for financially challenged people to access non-plastic reusable bags, and fails also to actually incentivize the shift away from single-use bags to reusable bags.

It's sad to see the state dubbed “The Ocean State” advance a bill that data proves will be problematic and possibly even counterproductive to the ends sought by environmentalists who want a stop to plastic production and a move away from single-use ANYTHING toward reusable products.

Yet on June 10, 2022, the bill was placed on House Calendar for June 17th.

Not happy? THERE'S STILL TIME TO CALL OR EMAIL YOUR STATE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE AND THE GOVERNOR to ask them NOT to pass this bag bill! 

Find contact info, here, or email ri@surfrider.org with your address and we will send you contact information before the bill comes to the floor for a vote on the 17th.

—>YOU can also email the Governor to ask him NOT to sign H.7065 Sub A / S.2446 if it passes the House in concurrence with the Senate.

Fill out this online form governor.ri.gov/contact and be sure to note that you support good plastic bag reduction laws, but this bill falls short due to the lack of needed amendments (see below). 

Amendments Needed to Pass a Working Bag Law:

1. Mandate a specific program to accommodate accessibility to free reusable bags for financially challenged communities, families and individuals rather than the current framing of urging free giveaways without limitation, which promotes excess; and,
2. Include the mandatory, uniform fee on paper bags that data proves is necessary to properly incentivize reusable bags; and,
3. Include a mandatory, minimum fee for all reusable bags sold, which data proves is necessary to prevent allowable 4 mils plastic bags or other plastic, “reusable” bags from becoming the new “go-to” bag, rather than the intended shift to proper reusable bags.

Thanks!

JUNE 3, 2022 UPDATE

The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee will pick up the House and Senate bag ban bills this coming Wednesday, June 8. They're edging toward adopting the bad bill passed by the Senate.

YOU CAN HELP!

Please email the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee asking for them to amend S.2446/H.7065 as follows before moving favorably out of Committee: 

1. Mandate a specific program to accommodate accessibility to free reusable bags for financially challenged communities, families and individuals rather than the current framing of urging free giveaways without limitation, which promotes excess; and,
2. Include the mandatory, uniform fee on paper bags that data proves is necessary to properly incentivize reusable bags; and,
3. Include a mandatory, minimum fee for all reusable bags sold, which data proves is necessary to prevent allowable 4 mils plastic bags or other plastic, “reusable” bags from becoming the new “go-to” bag, rather than the intended shift to proper reusable bags.

Emails may be sent to Chair Bennett and the Committee at: rep-bennett@rilegislature.gov; lmansolillo@rilegislature.gov; HouseEnvironmentandNaturalResources@rilegislature.gov. Please CC us so we can keep track of calls for amendments: ri@surfrider.org.

Thank you!

APRIL 7, 2022 UPDATE

Unfortunately, the Senate read and passed S.2446 today without the necessary amendments to create good bag law. S.2446 has now been sent to the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

The good news is that we still have an opportunity to help encourage amendments on the bag bill in the House! If we are successful in working with the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee to amend the bill and it then passes the House as amended, then this will inspire dialogue to reconcile the differences.

YOU CAN HELP!

Please email the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Chair Bennett, asking for them to amend S.2446/H.7065 as follows before moving favorably out of Committee to the House floor: 

1. Mandate a specific program to accommodate accessibility to free reusable bags for financially challenged communities, families and individuals rather than the current framing of urging free giveaways without limitation, which promotes excess; and,
2. Include the mandatory, uniform fee on paper bags that data proves is necessary to properly incentivize reusable bags; and,
3. Include a mandatory, minimum fee for all reusable bags sold, which data proves is necessary to prevent allowable 4 mils plastic bags or other plastic, “reusable” bags from becoming the new “go-to” bag, rather than the intended shift to proper reusable bags.

Emails may be sent to Chair Bennett and the Committee at: rep-bennett@rilegislature.gov; lmansolillo@rilegislature.gov; HouseEnvironmentandNaturalResources@rilegislature.gov. Please CC us so we can keep track of calls for amendments: ri@surfrider.org.

Thank you!

MARCH 27, 2022 UPDATE

The Senate companion bill to H.7065, S.2446, came to public hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture on Wednesday, March 30, at 4pm, in State House Room 313. Unfortunately, the Committee voted to recommend the bill for passage, as is.

To pass good bag law in the Ocean State, this bill needs to be amended to require a fee for single-use paper and reusable bags, and to amend the section relating to free giveaways of reusable bags to thwart wasteful stockpiling of reusable bags; there are proven policy mechanisms that work to abate equity concerns for financially challenged individuals and families, and in addition to encouraging excessive consumer behavior, the framing in this bill does not adequately address these equity concerns (see below for talking points!).

We still have an opportunity to get the House Bill (H.7065) amended in Committee, which would then inspire a conference committee to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills.

Give us a shout to learn more about how to email Committee members with this request, and how to contact your Senator with concerns about the Senate version of the bill!

JANUARY 27, 2022 UPDATE

The same well-intended but flawed bag bill has surfaced again this session, H.7065.

The bill came before the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee for public hearing on 1/27/22. The Committee recommended measure be held for further study following the hearing, which procedurally means that they have tabled it for further discussion and will likely bring it back around for a vote. This means that we have time to reach out to Committee members about why the amendments we're calling for are so important to ensure that good, working bag policy passes in the Ocean State.

The Rhode Island Chapter Chair, Stan Brajer, and our Northeast Regional Manager, Melissa Gates, submitted this written testimony during the public hearing to call for the needed amendments to H.7065 to:

1. Mandate a specific program to accommodate accessibility to free reusable bags for financially challenged communities, families and individuals rather than the current framing of urging free giveaways without limitation, which promotes excess; and,
2. Include the mandatory, uniform fee on paper bags that data proves is necessary to properly incentivize reusable bags; and,
3. Include a mandatory, minimum fee for all reusable bags sold, which data proves is necessary to prevent allowable 4 mils plastic bags or other plastic, “reusable” bags from becoming the new “go-to” bag, rather than the intended shift to proper reusable bags.

Join us to help pass GOOD bag law in the Ocean State! FMI: ri@surfrider.org

UPDATE TO CLOSE OUT 2021

While the Rhode Island General Assembly adjourned without S37 moving out of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, we are very likely to see the same bill resurface in 2022 rather than a bill with the working bag policy mechanisms data proves are necessary for good bag law.

RHODE ISLAND RESIDENTS! YOUR HELP IS NEEDED to help shift the tide on single-use bags in the Ocean State, and get a GOOD bag law passed!! Email to engage.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

The public hearing on H.5358 was held on March 11, and for S.37, on February 24, 2021.

H.5358 is currently being deliberated in Committee and the Senate bill, S.37, was scheduled for consideration on April 28, 2021, and then voted favorably out of Committee that same day, passing the Senate on May 4, 2021, advancing without adding the necessary fee on single-use paper bags. S.37 was then sent to the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on May 5, 2021, where it is currently being deliberated.

Even though the hearings have passed, you can submit unofficial written testimony leading right up until the bills move out of the House Committee! Email your letter (asking for our amendments, below!) on S.37 + H.5358 to HouseEnvironmentandNaturalResources@rilegislature.gov, letting Chair Bennett know that Rhode Island needs the bill amended to address paper bags with a fee in order to pass good, working policy into law that will result in the intended switch to reusable shopping bags!

UPDATES + OUR AMENDMENTS

The bag ban bill we worked on in 2020 was COVID-interrupted and didn't quite make it through process. The good news is that a new bag ban bill was introduced for the current session in 2021!

Unfortunately, the newly introduced bills (S37| H5358) have the same flaws as the 2020 Senate version. The new bills:

• Incentivize free giveaways of reusable bags, which will inspire cheapo plastic fabric bags to be given for free and used in a single-use manner 
• Incentivize customers to use single-use paper bags or boxes rather than reusable bags, as there is no fee required for the paper or boxes, which is what incentivizes reusable bag use
• Have a weak definition of “reusable bag.” The current definition creates a loophole that would allow the free distribution of cheapo plastic bags, which will be the new go-to along with paper RATHER than properly incentivizing reusable bags

To understand the data behind our policy recommendations, please check out the Plastic Bag Law and Reusable Bag Addendum toolkits.

To learn more about how to join virtually during the hearing to speak, visit the docket page (and give us a shout if it's confusing and you'd like help understanding how to participate!).

We will be working hard to amend the bill to create a good bag law in the Ocean State!

Email us to get involved: ri@surfrider.org

HISTORIC ACCOUNT

The bag ban bill in 2020, H.7306, went to public hearing before the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on February 6, 2020.

The Committee voted to hold the bill for a bit to discuss it more.

All this is to say…YOU still have an opportunity to send along comments! THIS IS CRITICAL AT THIS POINT! Please urge House ENR Committee lawmakers to maintain the fee on paper, despite the Senate passing SB2003-Substitute A on 2-26-20, without the fee.

HELP PASS A STRONG BAG BAN IN RHODE ISLAND!!

H.7306 is a strong bill that has proven policy mechanisms intact to:
➜Encourage reusable bag use by charging a fee for paper bags
➜Support businesses by mandating a uniform fee for paper bags
➜Protect the environment
➜Ban thin film plastic bags
➜Encourage accessibility of reusable bags to financially challenged communities

We asked supporters to submit support for the bill and its paper bag fee by emailing the House Committee on Environment clerk and asking him to share your comments with the full Committee: lmansolillo@rilegislature.gov 

YOU CAN HELP

The senate version of The Plastic Waste Reduction Act, S.2003, was scheduled for further discussion by the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture on 2-12-20. On 2/11/20, this proposed substitute bill surfaced, and on 2/12/20, the Committee voted to recommend passage of S.2003 Substitute A, which unfortunately still fails to address single-use paper bags with the mandated, uniform fee that is proven to be necessary for good bag reduction law. S.2003 Sub.A went to the Senate floor on 2/25/20 for a vote with the Committee's recommendation to pass, and it passed.

This bill does not mandate the paper bag fee and would not create good bag law in Rhode Island.

➜Please consider emailing your RI State Senator, the Senate President, and the Senate President's policy staffer, asking that they reconsider their position on the paper bag fee, which is vital to create good bag law: sen-ruggerio@rilegislature.gov, KBramson@rilegislature.gov. If the House Bill maintains the paper bag fee mechanism and passes, then the Senate and House will need to reconcile their bills. So there may be room for the Senate to accept that the paper bag fee is necessary. 

TALKING POINTS

We asked the Senate to reject S.2003-Sub A and adopt instead the House version of this bill, which contains the required fee on paper bags.

—

Importantly, H.7306 would require a 5-cent fee to be retained by retailers to be charged for every single-use paper bag given at point of sale. This is a vital policy mechanism that supports businesses and results in the intended incentivization of reusable bag use; without the fee on paper, Surfrider would not support this legislation.

We urge the Committee to retain the fee on paper bags and to vote the bill favorably out of committee in order to best support businesses and promote intended results for reusable bag use. Data proves that fees on paper bags are required to achieve these outcomes.

In jurisdictions where well-meaning legislators and environmental advocates have advanced bag reduction legislation without addressing paper with a fee, data proves that stores pay more and paper bag use increases. When these laws are revised to include the fee on paper, the intended results of encouraging reusable bags manifest and the use of paper bags decreases (Chicago, IL). 

Contrary to what you may have heard, when we pass laws that fail to address paper with a fee, lobbyists for the plastics industry use that data to try to demonstrate that bag laws hurt businesses, to the detriment of bag restriction campaigns. While this is misleading, as good bag laws that include a fee on paper bags actually support businesses, it is true that bag laws without the fee on paper have negative results on businesses. This is a huge factor in our position that passing a subpar bag bill is in fact not better than passing no bag bill at all. The fee on paper bags is required for good bag law.

H.7306 also contains an important accessibility clause urging retailers to target financially challenged communities with free reusable bag giveaways. 

For talking points and studies to cite when advocating for the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to maintain the mandated fee on paper bags and the inclusive section for accessibility to get reusable bags into financially challenged communities, please check out our tool kit.

Thank you!

2020 UPDATES

S.2003 went to public hearing on January 24, 2020. The Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources voted on January 29, 2020 to recommend that the bill be retained for further study. This means that the Committee is not yet ready to act on the bill, and will need to call it again to take further action.  

CAMPAIGN DETAIL

Senate bill 2003, the Plastic Reduction Act, was introduced to the Rhode Island Assembly on January 8, 2020. The bill essentially mimics the bill that passed the Rhode Island Senate in 2019 but failed to make it through the House.

This is a good start, but as written the bill would incentivize single-use paper bags to the detriment of businesses, shoppers and the environment, rather than the intended target of encouraging shoppers to bring their own reusable bags.

Good single-use plastic bag reduction bills need to include the environmental justice community in conversations to best ensure that financially challenged communities, families and individuals have a voice in policy-making and fair access to non-plastic film reusable bags. 

With bag laws, it is vital that we advance proven policy mechanisms that data proves are needed to create good statewide bag law. 

These proven policy mechanisms include:

• A mandatory, uniform fee on all allowable plastic film bags, if any
• A mandatory, uniform fee on all allowable paper bags
• A mandatory, minimum fee for initial purchase of reusable bags

We are advocating for the current definition of “reusable bags” in S.2003 to be amended. As written, this definition could allow 4 mil plastic film bags to be distributed for free, thereby incentivizing their employ. This would contravene the intent of the legislation, as with thicker plastic film bags being given out for free more plastic would be generated at a higher cost per bag, and then be wasted at the detriment of businesses, consumers and the environment (see: Austin, TX study). 

As we believe the intent of S.2003 is to disallow plastic film bags while allowing reusable bags with stitched handles that may or may not be made in part of plastic, we are asking for all text in this section after polypropylene to be struck.  

Data proves that shoppers are incentivized by fees; when there is a choice to pay a fee for a single-use bag or bring your own bag to avoid the fee, we categorically see a spike in reusable bag usage. 

On the other hand, where any type of checkout bag is given out for free, we categorically see a spike in the usage of that type of free bag.

The intent of any good single-use bag restriction law is to encourage non-film reusable bag use—not to force a fee for continued use of throwaway bags on consumers. Environmental justice demands that we establish the same standards of environmental and human health access to all people, and that we do so in an inclusive way that builds-in accessibility to reusable bags. 

Establishing fees for single-use paper bags concurrent with mandating inclusive process to establish and fund accessibility programming to get stitched handled reusable bags in the hands of those who need help to access them for free is a proven method that we know works to incentivize reusable bag use, support businesses fairly and attain access to reusable bags for low income households, whereas ignoring paper bags is proven to incentivize paper bag use to the detriment of businesses and the environment (see: Chicago study; DC study; Westport, CT study). 

The House version of the plastic bag bill, H.7306, does call for a fee on paper bags. Importantly, while the House bill would require a 5-cent fee to be retained by retailers to be charged for every single-use paper bag given at point of sale. The House bill would be strengthened by requiring a mandatory, minimum fee on all reusable bags sold at point of sale - closing a loophole exploited elsewhere, where cheap plastic bags made of virgin plastic and measured in grams are sneaking through as “reusable” and being used in a single-use manner.  

We will be working hard to get a good bag law passed in Rhode Island, and we hope YOU will join us to help! Give a shout to get involved.