Not everyone is on board with Massachusetts' recent foray into banning single-use plastic bags and instituting a 10-cent fee for paper bags.
CBS Boston reported that a pair of business groups is objecting to measures in a $3.6 billion environmental bond bill as it navigates the state Senate.
While over 160 of the state's towns and cities already have plastic bag bans, the efforts to go statewide are meeting major resistance from organizations such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
"The last thing commonwealth small businesses need is additional mandates, fees, and taxes that make owners' jobs more difficult and products and services more expensive for their customers," wrote the group's Massachusetts state director, Christopher Carlozzi, in a statement, per CBS Boston.
The Retailers Association of Massachusetts added that the changes could accelerate the trend of consumers shifting to alternatives like online shopping and delivery.
Lawmakers in favor of the ban, such as Sen. Becca Rausch, countered that reducing plastic waste is a must, given the scope of the problem statewide.
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"Massachusetts uses an estimated 2 billion plastic bags every year, requiring 10 million gallons of oil to produce," Rausch declared. "That's nearly the volume of oil in the Exxon spill every single year in plastic bags."
The paper bag charge is one that major retailer Stop & Shop tried in 2024, before changing course after customer complaints, per CBS Boston.
Interestingly, it's the part of the legislation that the organization most closely tied to these retailers takes issue with. The Massachusetts Food Association, representing supermarkets and small grocery stores in the state, backs a statewide ban on plastic bags.
However, it wants retailers to fully pocket the 10-cent bag fee rather than giving half of it to the state for environmental causes. It also wants more time for stores to use up all their plastic bags and inform customers about the incoming changes.
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