2014 -- H 7178 | |
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LC003467 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Cimini, Handy, Walsh, Amore, and Edwards | |
Date Introduced: January 23, 2014 | |
Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby |
2 | amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 19.16 |
4 | PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION ACT |
5 | 23-19.16-1. Short title. -- This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Plastic |
6 | Waste Reduction Act". |
7 | 23-19.16-2. Legislative findings. -- It is hereby found and declared as follows: |
8 | With Narragansett Bay, hundreds of miles of coastline, dozens of islands, and hundreds |
9 | of bodies of water including rivers, ponds, and lakes, Rhode Island faces a real threat from plastic |
10 | pollution. Single-use plastic checkout bags are a primary source of this pollution, littering Rhode |
11 | Island's neighborhoods, parks, and roadsides, as well as aquatic and coastal environments, posing |
12 | a direct threat to wildlife and accumulating in waterways. A ban on these plastic bags is the most |
13 | effective way to eliminate this source of pollution. |
14 | 23-19.16-3. Definitions. -- When used in this chapter: |
15 | (1) "Checkout bag" means any carry-out bag that is provided to the customer at the point |
16 | of sale. "Checkout bag" does not include plastic barrier bags, double-opening plastic bags, or |
17 | plastic bags measuring larger than twenty-eight inches (28") by thirty-six inches (36"). |
18 | (2) "Department" means the department of environmental management as established in |
19 | chapter 42-17.1. |
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1 | (3) "Double-Opening Plastic Bags" means any thin plastic bag with a double-opening |
2 | (top and bottom) to protect clothing or other items for transport. |
3 | (4) "Pass-through charge" means a charge to be collected by retailers from their |
4 | customers when providing recyclable paper bags, and retained by retailers to offset the cost of |
5 | bags and other costs related to the pass-through charge. |
6 | (5) "Plastic barrier bag" means any thin plastic bag with a single opening used to: |
7 | (i) Transport fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, small hardware items, or other items selected |
8 | by customers to the point of sale; |
9 | (ii) Contain or wrap fresh or frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether prepackaged or not; |
10 | (iii) Contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where damage to a good or |
11 | contamination of other goods placed together in the same bag may occur; |
12 | (iv) Contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods; or |
13 | (v) Newspaper sleeves. |
14 | (6) "Recyclable paper bag" means a paper bag that is fully recyclable overall and contains |
15 | a minimum of forty percent (40%) post-consumer recycled content and contains no old growth |
16 | fiber. The bag should display the words "Reusable" and "Recyclable" or the universal recycling |
17 | logo on the outside of the bag in green lettering at least one inch (1") in size. |
18 | (7) "Retail sales establishment" means any enterprise whereby the sale or transfer to a |
19 | customer of goods in exchange for payment occurring in retail stores, farmers' markets, flea |
20 | markets, and restaurants. This does not include sales of goods at yard sales, tag sales, other sales |
21 | by residents at their homes, and sales by nonprofit organizations. |
22 | (8) "Large retail sales establishment" means a retail sales establishment with five million |
23 | dollars ($5,000,000) or more in annual gross retail sales volume, as reported to the department of |
24 | revenue. |
25 | (9) "Small retail sales establishment" means a retail sales establishment with less than |
26 | five million dollars ($5,000,000) in annual gross retail sales volume, as reported to the |
27 | department of revenue. |
28 | (10) "Reusable bag" means a bag with handles that is specifically designed and |
29 | manufactured for multiple reuse and is made of cloth or other fabric or is made of durable plastic |
30 | that is at least two and a quarter (2.25) mils thick. |
31 | 23-19.16-4. Plastic waste reduction. -- (a) Effective January 1, 2014, large retail sales |
32 | establishments are prohibited from making available any plastic checkout bag, not including |
33 | plastic barrier bags or double-opening plastic bags. |
34 | (b) Effective January 1, 2015, no retail sales establishment, including large retail sales |
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1 | establishments and small retail sales establishments, shall make available any plastic checkout |
2 | bags at the point of sale, not including plastic barrier bags or double-opening plastic bags. |
3 | (c) Nothing in this section shall preclude a retail sales establishment from making |
4 | reusable bags or recyclable paper bags available for sale to customers. |
5 | 23-19.16-5. Enforcement-penalty.-- (a) This chapter shall be implemented, administered |
6 | and enforced by the city or town police department or department or division designated by its |
7 | chief executive officer. |
8 | (b) Upon being made aware of a potential violation of this chapter, the city or town |
9 | designee shall investigate and determine whether a violation has occurred. |
10 | (c) If the investigation confirms that a violation has occurred, the city or town designee |
11 | shall give written notice to the owner of the property, the owner's agent, or the person performing |
12 | such violation that the violation is occurring and must stop. |
13 | (d) Such notice shall be in writing and may be served upon a person to whom it is |
14 | directed either by delivering it personally to him or her or by posting same upon a conspicuous |
15 | portion of the property and sending a copy of same certified mail to the person to whom the |
16 | notice is directed. |
17 | (e) The owner, the owner's agent, or the person performing the violation is responsible |
18 | for confirming, in writing, that the violation has ceased to the city or town designee within |
19 | fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice. |
20 | (f) A second violation after the fourteen (14) day response period of the first violation |
21 | and within one year of the receipt of the confirmation that the violation had ceased shall incur a |
22 | penalty of one hundred fifty dollars ($150). |
23 | (g) A third violation within one year of the second and any subsequent violations shall |
24 | incur a penalty of three hundred dollars ($300). |
25 | (h) Each occurrence of a violation after the first, and each day that such violation |
26 | continues, shall constitute a separate violation and may be cited as such. |
27 | (i) Every city or town shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this |
28 | chapter within one hundred eighty (180) days of passage of this act. |
29 | 23-19.16-6. Severability. -- If any part or provision of this chapter, or the application of |
30 | any part or provision to any person, entity, or circumstances is adjudged invalid by any court of |
31 | competent jurisdiction, the judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision or |
32 | application directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall have been rendered, |
33 | and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this law or the application to other |
34 | persons, entities, or circumstances. |
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1 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC003467 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION | |
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1 | This act would establish a plan for the gradual ban on the use of disposable plastic |
2 | checkout bags by retail establishments. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC003467 | |
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