Controversial plastic bag ban sparks intense legal battle: 'It doesn't belong there'

A plastic bag ban in an Ohio municipality is at the heart of a battle between city and state lawyers. 

According to local outlet WOUB Public Media, officials in Athens, Ohio, have mounted a contentious legal debate with the state over a plastic bag ban enacted by the city in 2023. 

Some area retailers worried at the time that the ban could add to their operating costs, while some residents committed to helping the city make the important transition by meeting to sew reusable bags that would then be given away for free.

Meanwhile, the city ban prompted the state to file and win a suit at the county level last summer. The state argued that the ban was unconstitutional because it clashed with a state law that allows merchants to use plastic bags. 

The city of Athens has now pushed the issue to the state court of appeals, where they argued that the ban not only doesn't conflict with state law but that it falls within the city's right to self-govern. 

"That's exactly what the city of Athens was doing … governing itself," Jesse Branner Hittle, Athens assistant law director, told the judges, per WOUB.

The state has argued that its plastic bag bill was part of a larger set of regulations about recycling and litter prevention. But Branner Hittle said it was actually about personal choice, not recycling, and that the right to use a plastic bag to shop did not require merchants to provide them for customers. 

The state legislature, she said, "put this in a chapter about recycling but it doesn't belong there." In fact, they argued that their bill was part of their own larger environmental plan, which left room in the state's law to allow cities to regulate plastic bags on their own. 

State attorney Stephen Tabatowski framed Branner Hittle's contentions as "making distinctions without a difference," as described by WOUB. Tabatowski said the right to use a plastic bag implies merchants have the right to provide them to customers. 

"The provision of plastic bags at the point of sale is directly related to use," he said.

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Plastic bag ban proposals have been growing in popularity in recent years, as state and national policymakers work to reduce litter and pollution. One key goal is to prevent the spread of microplastics in the environment, which are being studied for multiple potential health hazards, including liver fibrosis and sexual disorders.

States like California and Massachusetts have moved to ban plastic bags, while Illinois is in the process of implementing a similar bill. Likewise, many cities, like Bozeman, Montana, have started to push to ban single-use plastic bags from retailers. 

With regard to Athens, the Fourth District Court of Appeals is expected to render a verdict soon.

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