Residents and advocates clash at Montgomery County hearing over plastic bag ban and 10¢ paper-bag fee

Montgomery County held a lengthy public hearing Jan. 14 on Bill 24-24, the “Bring Your Own Bag” proposal that would prohibit retailers from providing single-use plastic carryout bags at checkout and raise the paper carryout bag fee to $0.10 while exempting SNAP and WIC recipients.

Supporters, including environmental organizations and watershed advocates, urged the council to adopt the ban and strengthen its language. "Plastic carryout bags are a major culprit," said the Sierra Club representative, urging the council to keep a small charge on paper bags and close exemptions. The Anacostia Watershed Society’s president, Christopher Williams, said reducing bag litter will benefit streams and the Chesapeake Bay and called the bill an important step to protect waterways.

Local nonprofits and experts supplied data and recommendations. "The manufacture and transport of paper bags is not pollution free. Therefore, raising the tax on paper bags is appropriate," said Dr. Vivian Thompson, a retired environmental policy professor, who recommended increasing the fee to 10¢ and distributing reusable bags to low-income residents. Kit Gage, advocacy director of Friends of Sligo Creek, urged attention to reuse and flagged that county data indicate large numbers of plastic bags still enter the waste stream.

Opponents raised equity and practical implementation concerns. "The bill seems to presume that plastic or paper bags could readily be replaced by reusable bags," said Bill Commoners, arguing that not all purchases fit reusable-bag designs and that exemptions may be necessary for large or oddly sized items. Esther Wells, an assembled resident speaker, warned that the county has existing enforcement gaps — citing an Office of Inspector General report — and asked whether the county had remedied those problems before expanding or changing the bag law.

Advocates and business representatives diverged on the SNAP/WIC exemption. Gabrielle (Clean Water Action) supported the exemption, noting tens of thousands of SNAP and WIC participants countywide and arguing distribution logistics would be costly without it. By contrast, some retail representatives asked the council to remove the exemption because of point-of-sale implementation difficulties and the risk that employees would have to identify recipients of benefits.

Speakers also suggested edits to close loopholes the organizations said undercut bans elsewhere, including clarifications for produce and delivery bags and tighter definitions of exempt uses. Several speakers urged the council to maintain the paper-bag fee to fund water-quality projects or to shift to alternate fee/remittance structures if bag use falls.

The hearing closed after several hours of testimony; the council did not take a final vote on the measure during this session. Next steps include the T&E (Transportation & Environment) work session scheduled Feb. 3, 2025, and submission deadlines for written materials indicated by the council.