Days Are Running Out For Single-Use Plastic Bags In Maine

On a busy Saturday places like Walmart and Hannaford will pump out the plastic bags by the thousands, and while most will end up being disposed of properly and eventually incinerated at a waste plant, some will not.

Yes, we've seen them blowing across the parking lot on a windy day as they make their way to our wooded areas and streams. They take years to break down and erode. Before doing so one of Maine's precious wild animals may even choke to death on one.

Because it's a "throwaway society" here in America, single-use plastic bags have made it this far. Well, actually they along with polystyrene foam disposable food service containers were supposed to go away here in Maine way back on April 22nd, 2020, just as the nasty COVID-19 pandemic was setting in.  At that point according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, people would have to use reusable bags or pay a 5¢ per bag fee to bring home their cans of Chef Boyardee.

Then at the onset of the pandemic news made the rounds that the coronavirus could be transmitted via reusable cloth bags, so Maine officials kicked the ban of single-use plastic bags down the road until January 15th, 2021.

The pandemic didn't go away so soon. So, the January 15th deadline came and went, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection set a new date of July 1st, 2021.

So here we sit a little less than six weeks away from seeing the demise of single-use plastic bags here in Maine.  What do you think, will it actually happen?

Stay informed at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Waste Management website.