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EAC single‑use plastics subcommittee begins outreach planning; draft scope includes bags, utensils and expanded polystyrene
Summary
A subcommittee of the Erie Environmental Advisory Council has begun collecting litter data, developing a one‑pager and preparing standardized questionnaires to begin community outreach on a proposed single‑use plastics ordinance covering bags, single‑use utensils and expanded polystyrene.
The Environmental Advisory Council's single‑use plastics subcommittee reported progress April 24 on developing outreach materials, data collection and a stakeholder contact list for a proposed city ordinance to limit single‑use items.
The subcommittee — which includes Alan Swagonski (resident), Molly Tarvin, Jenna Walmsley, Matt Puz and Jackie Spry — said it is combining local survey data with Alliance for the Great Lakes information and findings from a city litter study to produce a one‑page summary of the problem for use in stakeholder conversations.
Nut graf: The subcommittee has agreed to standardize community outreach by using a common questionnaire and a contact spreadsheet so volunteers can gather comparable responses when they meet restaurants, retailers and community groups. The group said that will inform how an ordinance might be scoped and whether to focus on bags only or include other items.
The subcommittee described an initial scope that would target plastic bags, single‑use utensils and expanded polystyrene ("styrofoam"). "If the ordinance that we're being considered is still going to focus on plastic bags, I'm supposing that the data is gonna support that as being the a big target," a member said. Another member clarified: "It's bags, utensils, and styrofoam I'm sorry. Expanded polystyrene." The group said plastic bottles are not included in the proposed ordinance; members recommended addressing bottles by improving infrastructure and alternatives rather than through a ban.
The subcommittee plans monthly meetings (second Wednesday) and will assign members to engage specific businesses and community groups, using the one‑pager and questionnaire. Members also said they will brief city council members and staff once outreach yields initial data and recommended holding an internal EAC‑staff meeting before broader public engagement.
Ending: The subcommittee plans to continue data collection and outreach and will report back to the full EAC in May; no ordinance language or council referral was presented at the meeting.
