[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Tredyffrin 9-19-2022 by Ord. No. HR-454. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
Purpose.
(1)
The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the use of single-use, plastic
carry-out bags, single-use plastic straws, and polystyrene food containers
by commercial establishments within the Township; curb litter on the
streets, in the parks, and in the trees; protect the local streams,
rivers, waterways and other aquatic environments; reduce solid waste
generation; promote the use of reusable, compostable, and recyclable
materials within the Township; and preserve the natural, scenic, historic,
and aesthetic values of the Township.
B.
Findings.
(1)
The use of single-use, plastic carry-out bags, single-use plastic
straws, and polystyrene food containers has severe environmental impacts,
including litter, harm to wildlife, water consumption, and solid waste
generation.
(2)
There are numerous commercial establishments within the Township
that provide single-use, plastic carry-out bags, single-use plastic
straws, and polystyrene food containers to their customers.
(3)
Most single-use, plastic carry-out bags, single-use plastic straws,
and polystyrene food containers are made from plastic or other material
that does not readily decompose.
(4)
Approximately 100,000,000,000 single-use, plastic carry-out bags
are discarded by United States consumers each year. In the Township,
such bags are not readily recyclable.
(5)
Numerous studies have documented the prevalence of single-use, plastic
carry-out bags littering the environment, blocking storm drains, entering
local waterways, and becoming stuck in or upon natural resources and
public property.
(6)
The taxpayers of the Township pay the costs related to the cleanup
of single-use, plastic carry-out bags, single-use plastic straws,
and polystyrene food containers from the roadways, trees, sewers,
waters, and parks within the Township.
(7)
From an overall environmental and economic perspective, the best
alternative to single-use, plastic carry-out bags, single-use plastic
straws, and polystyrene food containers is a shift to reusable, compostable,
or recyclable paper bags.
(8)
There are several alternatives to single-use, plastic carry-out bags,
single-use plastic straws, and polystyrene food containers readily
available in and around the Township.
(9)
Single-use paper bag manufacturing, transportation, and resource
consumption also affects the environment, but such bags are biodegradable,
single-stream recyclable, and provide a practical retail establishment
alternative consistent with most local and state single-use, plastic
regulations and prohibitions. Although preferable to single-use, plastic
bags, the overall effects of producing, providing, and allowing single-use
paper bags should also be mitigated to reduce waste, litter, and natural
resource depletion by encouraging, facilitating, and promoting reusable
bag use.
(10)
Studies and past experiences have shown that placing a mandatory
charge on paper bags promotes and encourages the use of reusable bags,
and prohibiting or otherwise regulating the use of single-use, plastic
carry-out bags significantly reduces the use and waste of such items.
(11)
As required by the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania
Constitution, the Township seeks to preserve the natural, scenic,
historic, and aesthetic values of the Township.
(12)
The Board desires to conserve resources; reduce waste, litter,
water pollution; and protect the public health and welfare, including
wildlife, all of which increase the quality of life for the Township's
residents and visitors.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply unless the context clearly requires and unambiguously
dictates otherwise:
The Board of Supervisors of Tredyffrin Township.
Any store or retail establishment that sells perishable or
nonperishable goods, including, but not limited to, clothing, food,
and personal items, directly to the customer, and is located within
or doing business within the geographical limits of the Township.
Commercial establishments include: a business establishment that generates
a sales or use tax; a drugstore, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store,
farmers market, convenience food store, food mart, or other commercial
entity engaged in the retail sale of a limited line of goods that
include milk, bread, soda, and snack foods; a public eating establishment
(i.e., a restaurant, takeout food establishment, or any other business
that prepares and sells prepared food to be eaten on or off its premises);
and a business establishment that sells clothing, hardware, or any
other nonperishable goods.
Certain paper carry-out bags and reusable bags as set forth
herein:
A paper bag that meets all the following minimum requirements:
It is considered a recyclable material, based on the Township
Code, as the same may be amended from time to time; contains a minimum
of 40% postconsumer recycled material; and displays the words "recyclable"
and/or "reusable" in a highly visible manner on the outside of the
bag; or
It can be composted. To qualify as "compostable," the specifications
for the bag shall have been submitted to and been approved by the
Township Environmental Advisory Council; or have met an applicable
federal, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, American Society for Testing
and Materials or other generally recognized and acceptable standards
for being compostable.
Any person purchasing goods or services from a commercial
establishment.
A bag used inside a commercial establishment by a customer
to deliver perishable items to the point-of-sale at that establishment.
Exempted bags shall include:
A bag used to package bulk items such as fruit, vegetables,
nuts, grains, or candy;
A bag used to contain or wrap meats or fish, or to contain unwrapped
prepared foods or bakery goods;
A bag used solely to contain live animals, such as fish or insects
sold in a pet store; and/or
A bag sold in packaging containing multiple bags and intended
for use as food storage bags, garbage bags, or pet waste bags, and
packaged at the time of manufacture of the bag.
The owner, person in control, or person having responsibility
for, the operation of a commercial establishment, which may include,
but is not limited to, the owner of the commercial establishment.
A synthetic material made from linking monomers through a
chemical reaction to create a polymer chain that can be molded or
extruded at high heat into various solid forms that retain their defined
shapes during their life cycle and after disposal, including material
derived from either petrochemicals or a biologically based polymer,
such as corn or other plant sources.
A nonrecyclable plastic disposable food or drink container
made of synthetic resin of polystyrene (one example is known as Styrofoam®) which is for single use and intended for serving
or transporting ready-to-eat food or beverages. This definition includes
cups, plates, trays, bowls, and hinged or lidded containers, but does
not apply to cup lids.
A material that would otherwise be destined for solid waste
disposal, having completed its intended end use and product life cycle.
This term does not include materials and by-products generated from
and commonly reused within an original manufacturing and fabrication
process.
Material that can be sorted, cleansed, and reconstituted
using available recycling collection programs for the purpose of reusing
the altered, incinerated, converted, or otherwise thermally destroyed
solid waste generated therefrom.
Any bag that is made predominantly of plastic that is made
through a blown-film extrusion process, which is provided by an operator
of a commercial establishment to a customer at the point-of-sale,
but not including an exempted bag.
A straw sold or distributed for the purpose or intent of
transferring a beverage from its container to the mouth of the drinker
by suction, which is made predominantly of plastic and which is primarily
intended for a single use. The term shall also include a plastic stirrer,
a device used to mix beverages, intended for a single use, and made
predominantly from plastic. The term single-use plastic straw shall
not include straws or stirrers composed of nonplastic materials, such
as bamboo, sugar cane, wood, or paper. The term single-use plastic
straw shall not include straws provided under the following circumstances:
When provided with a beverage on private property used as a
residence;
When provided by a state, federal or local government agency;
When packaged with beverages prepared and packaged outside of
the Township, provided such beverages are not altered, packaged or
repackaged within the Township; or
When provided as an assistance device to reasonably accommodate
a disability.
Tredyffrin Township.
Effective 180 days after enactment of this chapter, no commercial establishment shall provide to any customer a single-use, plastic carry-out bag, as defined in § 165-2 above. This prohibition applies to bags provided for the purpose of carrying goods away from the point-of-sale. This prohibition applies to single-use, plastic carry-out bags used for takeout deliveries from commercial establishments within the Township. The point-of-sale in such transactions shall be the commercial establishment, regardless of where payment for the transaction physically or electronically occurs.
A.
Beginning 180 days after enactment of this chapter, commercial establishments
shall only provide compliant bags to a customer at the commercial
establishment or through a delivery.
B.
A commercial establishment may provide a customer a compliant bag
at the point-of-sale if the bag is provided to the customer for a
charge of not less than $0.15 per bag.
C.
All monies collected by a commercial establishment under this section
for provision of a recycled paper bag shall be retained by the commercial
establishment.
D.
Any charge for a compliant bag shall be separately stated on any
receipt provided to the customer at the time of sale and shall be
identified as the "carry-out bag charge" thereon.
E.
Customers may use bags of any type, which they bring to the commercial
establishment themselves, for the purpose of carrying goods or other
materials away from the point-of-sale without incurring a fee for
a compliant bag.
Beginning 180 days after enactment of this chapter, and for
a minimum of six months thereafter, commercial establishments shall
post at all points-of-sale conspicuous signage informing customers
that single-use, plastic carry-out bags and nonrecycled paper bags
will no longer be provided by the establishment as of the date the
prohibition begins; explaining what types of bags and purchases are
impacted; and providing any other information the Township may require
by regulation.
Beginning 180 days after the enactment of this chapter, commercial
establishments are prohibited from providing single-use plastic straws
or polystyrene food containers to a customer, patron, or user of the
commercial establishment under any circumstance, unless subject to
an exemption. The prohibition set forth in this section shall not
apply to single-use plastic straws or polystyrene food containers
such as plates, cups, and bowls, which: a) contain multiple single-use
plastic straws or polystyrene food containers; b) are packaged by
the manufacturers of such items at the time of their manufacture;
and c) are ultimately sold to consumers for home use.
The Township may, upon written request of a commercial establishment,
exempt a commercial establishment from the requirements of this chapter
until October 1, 2023, upon a finding by the Board that the requirements
of this chapter would cause undue hardship to the commercial establishment.
An exemption granted by the Board under this section shall exempt
the commercial establishment only from the requirements of this chapter
expressly specified in the exemption. An "undue hardship" shall be
found only if the commercial establishment demonstrates that it has
a unique circumstance or situation such that there are no reasonable
alternatives to the use of single-use, plastic carry-out bags or polystyrene
food containers.
A.
The Township Manager, or his/her designee(s), has the responsibility
for enforcement of this chapter and may promulgate reasonable rules
and regulations to enforce the provisions thereof, including, but
not limited to, investigating violations and issuing fines.
B.
Any commercial establishment that violates or fails to comply with
any of the requirements of this chapter, after an initial written
warning notice has been issued for that violation, shall be liable
for a violation.
C.
Any commercial establishment that receives an initial written warning notice may file a request for an exemption pursuant to the procedure in § 165-7 above.
D.
If a commercial establishment has subsequent violations of this chapter after the issuance of an initial written warning notice of violation, the Township may issue a summary criminal citation and seek fines, as provided in § 165-8E below, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment in the county prison for a term of not more than 30 days. Each section of this chapter violated shall constitute a separate offense, and each day or portion thereof in which a violation of this chapter is found to exist shall constitute a separate offense, each of which violations shall be punishable by a separate fine imposed by the Magisterial District Justice. All fines and penalties collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid to the Township Treasurer.
E.
If a commercial establishment has subsequent violations of this chapter
after the issuance of an initial written warning notice of violation,
the Township may issue the following penalties that shall be payable
by the operator of the commercial establishment:
F.
For the purposes of enforcement under this section, a violation shall
be each occurrence of a person, customer, operator, and/or commercial
establishment violating a requirement of this chapter.
G.
In addition to the penalties set forth in this chapter, the Township
may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable relief to enforce this
chapter.
