The proposal to ban single-use plastic bags at the point of checkout will soon come up for a formal vote. The Board of Selectmen (BOS) has scheduled a public hearing on the issue for Tuesday, May 28 and may vote on the ordinance that evening following the public hearing.

The action listed for the public hearing is whether or not the town should “amend the Code of the Town of Guilford Chapter 236 Solid Waste and Recycling to include restrictions of store use single-use plastic bags.” First Selectman Matt Hoey said the town’s attorneys have reviewed the ordinance

“They put their stamp of approval on it and we are ready to move forward,” he said. “The public hearing will be an opportunity for the public to weigh in, present their opinions, ask questions, etc.”

Discussions surrounding plastic waste and a potential ban have been ongoing over the last several months. On March 27, the Sustainable Guilford Task Force held a public information session to discuss work done to date by the task force and the proposed single-use plastic bag ban ordinance. Task force co-chair Terri Cain said during the presentation that the proposed Guilford ban is a hybrid of what the task force has seen work well in other parts of the state.

“The most efficient way to do this is to change people’s habits,” she said. “The only way to change people’s habits is to ban plastic bags outright. That is the only way it has worked, but you have to take one more step. In addition to banning plastic outright, we must put a fee on paper bags. If we do not put a fee on paper bags, then people will just start using paper bags. That’s not going to get rid of the problem of single-use waste or the carbon footprint.”

The ordinance, as proposed, would eliminate all single-use plastic bags at the point of checkout. The ordinance would allow businesses to phase out plastic bags over a six-month period, allowing owners to work through plastic bags they may have already purchased. In addition, a 10 cent fee would be placed on paper bags to encourage people to switch to reusable bags and not just flip from plastic to paper.

To date, eight municipalities in the state have passed bans and another 17 cities and towns are currently considering single-use plastic bag bans. In Hartford, the General Assembly Environment Committee passed a bill out of committee that would ban single-use plastic bags statewide, but Cain had said the state bill has too many loopholes and wants to see a stronger local ordinance.

The proposed ban bag is part of Guilford’s broader initiative to be a certified Sustainable CT town. Sustainable CT is voluntary certification program open to all municipalities and which aims to help towns build their local economies while protecting their natural resources.

According to the program mission statement, the goal is to “provide municipalities with a menu of coordinated, voluntary actions to continually become more sustainable; to provide resources and tools to assist municipalities in implementing sustainability actions and advancing their programs for the benefit of all residents; and to certify and recognize municipalities for their ongoing sustainability achievements.”

Visit the town website at www.ci.guilford.ct.us for more information on the task force and public hearing information. The public hearing is Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Guilford Community Center, 32 Church Street.