Kathleen Gray

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

LANSING -- Relief from those billowing plastic bags flying across freeways, clinging to trees and filling landfills won’t be coming anytime soon.

The Michigan Senate Commerce Committee is expected to vote next week on a bill that would prohibit communities from banning the ubiquitous plastic bags and carryout containers from restaurants and grocery stores.

“Instead of having a piecemeal approach, we need to have one standard across the state,” Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said during a hearing on the bill Wednesday.



Retailers and restaurant owners agreed, saying that a patchwork of regulations across the state would be costly and difficult to navigate, especially for store owners with multiple locations in Michigan.

Ban the plastic bag? Lawmakers say, forget about it

“This will increase the costs for retailers and consumers,” said Amy Drumm, director of government affairs for the Michigan Retailers’ Association. “This should be a state policy, rather than a local policy.”

Mark Huizenga, the mayor of Walker, in west Michigan, said a resident had asked the city commission to consider such a ban because of all the bags she encountered on the streets and trails in town.

“But we want to create an environment that’s supportive of our retailers,” he said. “I’m not opposed to recycling, but I am opposed to creating a patchwork of regulation.”

James Clift, policy director for the Michigan Environmental Council, said the bill was overly broad and a restriction on communities who are trying to react to a legitimate problem.

“What we’re seeing across the country is people reacting to a problem in their community. Sometimes it’s about litter. Each year, they pick up thousands of these plastic bags, which are potentially affecting wildlife,” he said. “Should we be preempting this at the state level? We’re OK with that if the state is dealing with it. But with this, we’re just going to leave citizens frustrated without being able to do anything about the problem.”

What Michigan can learn from California's bag ban

In Michigan, no community bans plastic bags, but several, including Muskegon and Washtenaw counties, are considering restrictions on the use of plastic bags. California was the first state to ban single-use plastic bags in 2014. Hawaii and the District of Columbia also have some sort of ban on plastic bags.

The committee is expected to vote on the bill — SB 853 — next week.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgkrkay99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal