As Cambridge Bans Plastic Bags, Some Shopkeepers Skeptical

An ordinance banning the distribution of single-use plastic bags at store checkouts in Cambridge will take effect Thursday, and some local shopkeepers are skeptical of its projected impact.

The "Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance,"which the Cambridge City Council passed a year ago, requires that all checkout bags distributed at retail stores be reusable or made of recyclable paper or compostable plastic. Retailers are also required to charge a fee of no less than 10 cents for providing environmentally friendly bags and may keep the fee to offset costs associated with transitioning away from plastic. Stores that violate the ordinance can be punished with a fine of up to $300 per day.

Some local retailers around Harvard Square are ready to begin following the new ordinance immediately, with updated registers that allow them to charge for providing environmentally friendly and cloth shopping bags.

In the text of the ordinance, the City Council wrote that reducing the number of plastic bags littered across the city will contribute to environmental goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, keeping the waterways clean, and protecting the marine environment.

“The goal is obviously to reduce plastic waste,” said Cambridge City Councillor Jan Devereux. “It’s something we could easily learn to live without. We did for hundreds of years as a society.”

Student environmentalists praised the law for the effects it will have on reducing plastic pollution.

“Getting rid of plastic as much as possible is really important for the ocean,” Whitney Hansen ’17, the president of the Harvard College Conservation Society, said.

Despite the local support, retailers in the Square expressed doubt over the impact of the new law and ambivalence over the City’s ability to enforce the fines.

Al May, a clerk at the local candy and apparel shop Hidden Sweets, said the majority of his customers are tourists who are unlikely to have a reusable bag with them.

“Sixty-five percent of our sales come from people who are traveling to other parts of the country,” May said. “I just can’t imagine that they are going to be carrying their bags with them to offset the 10 cent charge.”

May also predicted a rocky transition.

“There’s going to be some growing issues. If they want to lay down $300 tickets, good luck,” May added, referring to the law’s fine.

The success of the ordinance in reducing plastic bag use will likely vary depending on the nature of the retailer. In stores like Staples, most of whose customers live nearby, store clerk Bill Noble said he did not think the ordinance would have a significant impact.

“Seventy-five percent of customers don't want a plastic bag anyway,” Noble said.

Devereux, however, said she believes the transition to reusable bags will not be as onerous as some think.

“Once people have an inventory of four or five reusable bags and get in the habit of it, it’s really not going to be a big deal,” Devereux said. “A year or two from now, we’re all going to scratch our heads and think, ‘Why was there any resistance to this?’”

Aware of the burden that the ordinance could impose on low-income residents, the City of Cambridge is also collecting about 10,000 reusable bags to redistribute to those most in need.

“If you have to pay 10 cents for each bag, that could come up to 50 cents or even a dollar every time you go to the grocery store,” said Michael D. Orr, the waste reduction program manager at the Cambridge Department of Public Works.