NEW BEDFORD – The state Senate will debate a bill Thursday that would ban plastic bags from retail stores across the state.

The move comes as New Bedford city councillors seek to repeal the city's plastic bag ban.

Last Thursday, city councilors voted 8-2 to lift the city's ban on single-use plastic bags in retail stores.

Further approval by the entire Council would signal ratification.

Mayor Jon Mitchell has stated that he would veto such a vote to repeal the law, but that the council could override the veto with a qualified majority of eight votes, which it currently does.

The Council approved the ban in 2020 and it came into force in 2022.

During the local debate, some city councillors said such a ban must be implemented at a national level, and not by each municipality individually.

The state law would override local bans

The state's bill to reduce plastic use would ban plastic carry-out bags and require state agencies to prohibit the purchase of single-use plastic bottles, as well as create a statewide program to recycle large plastic items, according to a Senate press release.

The state plastic ban bill would override local bans.

According to the Sierra Club of Massachusetts, as of May 2023, 162 Massachusetts cities and towns, representing nearly 5 million people, or 70% of the state's population, have regulated the use of single-use plastic bags. New Bedford's ban was not included on that list.

The state plastics bill would also:

• Require retailers to charge 10 cents for reusable bags made from recycled paper or other plastic, with 5 cents going to the government for environmental protection and 5 cents going to stores to cover their costs.

• Provide straws and plastic tableware only upon request.

• Ban government purchases of plastic bottles.

• Increase nationwide recycling of plastic waste.

• Label non-flushable wipes more effectively.

The Senate has been supporting the plastic reduction policy since 2019, the press release states.

The Senate will also debate legislation Thursday that would expand clean energy efforts, reduce emissions from buildings and improve electric vehicle use and infrastructure to help meet goals set out in the state's 2050 Clean Energy and Climate Plan.

This article originally appeared in the Standard-Times: Massachusetts Senate to debate statewide plastic bag ban this week