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Single-use plastics are the most common source of pollution all over our state. Legislators in Harrisburg have heard cries from their constituents, and some of them have been proposing bills to put a stop to our throw-away crisis. While Harrisburg is controlled by Republicans who don’t care about our planet’s future and instead prefer to cozy up to fossil fuel lobbyists, many of these bills will never pass or even see the floor.
Many municipalities have taken a stand against the lack of representation in Harrisburg for the environment and have started to tackle this issue themselves, Narberth being the first to do so in 2017 enacting a plastic straw ban and a fee on plastic bags.
After Narberth enacted this law last year many municipalities, cities and townships started the process to bring a single-use plastic ban to their local communities. While many of these local governments were in the process of gathering data and researching these bans, Jake Corman, the state Senate majority leader, snuck a three-paragraph provision into the 69-page budget making it illegal for any local government body to enact any type of single use plastic ban. A clear overreach over local control.
While this has put a halt on some local governments, it hasn’t stopped the Borough of West Chester just outside Philadelphia. They have shown Harrisburg that this problem needs to be confronted, and we will not sit back and watch Pennsylvania become a dumping ground covered in plastic bottles, straws, bags and anything else we use for only 10 minutes. Local governments across Pennsylvania need to stand up to the fossil fuel industry that has lined the pockets of legislatures in Harrisburg.
They must resist this overreach and put an end to our throw away society.
James Conroy
PennEnviroment
Wilkes-Barre