Plastic Bags Everywhere Bill Passes Georgia Senate

Environment Georgia

Atlanta, GA—Today the Georgia State Senate passed SB 139 by a vote of 32-19. The legislation would prohibit local governments from passing ordinances that would, for example, ban or put a fee on plastic bags. A similar bill, HB 444, is scheduled to be heard in the Agriculture Committee of the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday March 2nd. Jennette Gayer, Director of Environment Georgia, made the following statement.

 “It is disappointing that the Senate decided to side with bag manufacturers instead of communities interested in getting bags and other litter out of our streets, streams and ocean.

Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our environment for hundreds of years, so communities around the country are finding ways to discourage the use of plastic bags, Styrofoam containers and more. We should be encouraging communities to experiment with provisions that will help cleanup plastic waste, not stopping them in their tracks.”