Easton Has a Plastic Bag Problem

Before you even start reading this article, it’s important that you know I’m GUILTY. I did not admit my culpability when I interviewed Marion Arnold, Peggy Ford, and Elaine Tama from Plastic-Free Easton Group. I tsk-tsked in the appropriate places, but I was shifting uncomfortably in my seat. 

This is how Marion Arnold described the issue: “You’ve seen them. Tattered plastic bags hanging with impunity high up a tree after the foliage has dropped away. The clusters of soiled plastic bags along the roadside after tall grasses die back. Farm fields full of trashy plastic bags attached to the stubble following the fall harvest.”  

However, as the trio informed me, the problem goes far beyond keeping Easton beautiful. There is also the devasting ecological and environmental impact when these lightweight bags land along the waterways of the Eastern Shore, or when they entangle wildlife or fishing gear, or worse when the harmful and polluting chemicals used to manufacture them are released either during production or in their breakdown when they are discarded. 

At this point, I was thinking about my last trip to the grocery store when I ran in, forgetting the numerous reusable bags in my trunk. “That’s OK, I thought; I’ll recycle the plastic bags and use them to get rid of the kitty litter.” 

Yes, I am part of the problem.

Knowing that it all starts locally with people like me, Tama and Ford created the environmentally conscious group to keep Easton both green and beautiful. They were joined by others similarly interested, including Arnold. The group sat at the farmers market gathering signatures for a petition asking the Town of Easton to pass a law banning retail establishments within the town from making available free, single-use, carryout plastic bags to customers (with certain exceptions, such as plastic bags used for meat, fish, and vegetables). 

But how bad of a problem could it be? 

This past November, Plastic-Free Easton volunteers surveyed Easton’s grocery stores to study shopping bagging preferences. Volunteers tallied the number of shopping carts over a two-hour period at each store and whether the groceries were in reusable shopping bags, disposable plastic bags, or unbagged.  

The results surprised even them: shoppers overwhelmingly pack their goods in plastic when the bags are free. Of the almost 500 observed shoppers at Easton’s Acme, Giant, Harris Teeter, and Weis Market, an astonishing number–84.5%–went with plastic bags. They also surveyed Target and Walmart, which sell both groceries and other department store items. They found that approximately 87% of the 531 shoppers observed over a one-hour period opted for free plastic, about 11% for reusable, with the remainder not using bags.

You might argue that convenience is important. Besides being free, aren’t many of us conscientiously doing our part by returning the bags to the recycling bins at the store?  

Well, the group took a look at that as well. “Is it possible,” asked Arnold, “that we don’t understand the real price of a ‘free’ plastic bag? Are stores really going to give it away for free? So you have to understand that there is a hidden cost there.”

As for returning them—you might be surprised to learn that as per a July 2019 article in the National Geographic resource library, only 9% of plastic bags were actually recycled! Not only do they jam up the recycling machines, but if a dirty bag is disposed of in the bin, the whole container is corrupted and must be trashed (at taxpayers’ expense). But here’s one more important thing to note: The Town of Easton does not accept plastic bags for recycling. 

There was one last piece of investigation that Plastic-Free Easton’s did that you need to know about, and it’s eye-opening. When they observed shoppers at the local Aldi for their bagging preference, they found drastically different results. Unlike the other major grocery chains, Aldi shoppers have to bring their bags or boxes to carry away groceries since Aldi charges for its bags. Out of 221 shoppers, about half did not bag their merchandise, 37% used reusable bags, and 13.6% used disposable paper bags.  Not one shopper used single-use plastic bags.

For Tama, this was not a surprise, and it became even more of a motivator. This past summer, while vacationing in Rehoboth Beach and shopping at the local grocery stores, she found Delaware had passed a law banning single-use plastic bags. “I wondered,” she said, “if Delaware can pass this type of law, why can’t all of Maryland?” Well, it’s not for lack of trying. “If you include this year (2022 Session), it will be the third year we’ve been waiting for a State bill,” said Tama.  The 2020 legislation stalled in the state senate,” said Arnold.  There is talk about reintroducing the bill this year, but that is unlikely from what we understand.”

The fact that it isn’t happening faster is surprising. Maryland creates approximately 12 million tons of solid waste, with almost 13% coming from plastics (including plastic bags.) The pandemic hasn’t helped. With the rise of carry out and deliveries from restaurants and grocery stores, there has been an increase of 30% in plastic waste in 2020. So what’s the delay?

Opponents argue that the bill would create a paper bag shortage and increase prices for small businesses, who would be forced to pass on the costs to their customers. Supporters challenge that customers are paying for plastic bags now, and paper bags would similarly become integrated into the price of doing business.  In fact, they argue, places that have implemented bans have seen a significant increase in people bringing their own reusable bags, and these people have adjusted without any seemingly harmful effect.

So while disagreements continue, it’s up to individual communities to pass their own laws. Bans have gone into effect in certain parts of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Howard County, Baltimore City, Takoma Park, Chestertown, and Westminster. Other counties and towns currently have initiatives under consideration. Plastic-Free Easton wants to make sure Easton is part of this group.

For guidance, Tama reached out to Martha Ainsworth, Prince George’s Chair of the Sierra Club’s Zero Waste Committee, a couple of months ago. “I shared our ideas of what we could do in Easton, and she advised us on what would work, what wouldn’t, and what other people were doing across the state. She even sent me a sample bill that we would like to get a local council member to sponsor and introduce.” 

Recently, the group has met with individual council members, pitching their ideas and getting feedback. “We need to know,” said Arnold, “what sort of information they would need to support the single-use ban.” Added Ford, “they’ve been very insightful and have given our committee suggestions of ways to go and things to do to make sure that we’re prepared. I think that they’ve been supportive to us in that way.”  

But don’t expect this group just to sit back and wait for a sponsor. Come spring, the group will be back at the farmers market collecting more signatures. They even plan on asking some of the local foundations to buy reusable bags that the group could give out at the local grocery stores for free. Said Ford, “I hope that this grassroots effort promotes awareness throughout our community so that all people, whether they’re youth or elders, are aware that this is a problem.”

Arnold agrees, “There’s no simple solution to Easton’s plastic bag problem. But taking our reusable bags into the grocery store would be a good place to start.”

It all makes a lot of sense. Guess I’ll have to figure out another way to dispose of my kitty litter.

For more information about Plastic-Free Easton, go here.  

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.