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Montana Lawmakers Take Up Bills on Straws, Plastic Bags

Separate bills would prevent restaurants from providing a "single-use" plastic straw unless requested, impose 4 cent plastic bag fee

By Associated Press

HELENA — Two bills sponsored by a Missoula senator winding their way through the Legislature could change life as some Montanans know it by limiting plastic straws in retail food establishments and charging for plastic bags in stores.

And there is a bill by another lawmaker that would send Styrofoam containers packing.

However, the president of the Montana Retail Association and a lobbyist for the group said the bills are unnecessary, adding many restaurants have already cut back on straws for customers and that the bills unfairly target restaurateurs and retail food establishments.

They said perhaps there should be a bigger discussion on recycling in Montana.

Senate Bill 120, introduced by Democratic Sen. Sue Malek, would not allow restaurants to provide a “single-use” plastic straw unless requested by the customer.

SB 121 would establish a fee of 4 cents for each disposable carryout bag used in any retail store.

Both bills will be heard 8:30 a.m. Friday in room 422 by the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee.

Malek said she decided to introduce the bills upon learning of a floating island of garbage, mostly plastic, the size of New York City floating in the ocean. She also said she visits her son in Washington D.C., and noticed people are charged 10 cents a bag.

She said students from Sussex School in Missoula asked her to introduce the bill regulating straws.

She noted many municipalities have passed bills similar to hers.

Brad Griffin, president of the Montana Retail Association, said many restaurants are already cutting back on straws for customers. He called the bill “unnecessary,” saying let the free market resolve the problem.

He said one member says cutting back on straws will save him $1,000 a year.

Griffin said the bill regarding a fee for bags would be an “operational nightmare” and open retailers to audits in terms of how many bags were sold.

Sarah Swanson, who does government relations for the association, called the bill “onerous,” saying it was a seven-page piece of legislation for a 4 cent fee. She said she questioned the “predatoriness” of the three bills, saying they singled out food retailers and restaurants.

Griffin and Swanson both said the state should consider a “broader conversation” on reducing waste in Montana.

A third bill, House Bill 165 by Rep. Marilyn Marler, also a Missoula Democrat, was introduced.

SB 120 exempts retail food businesses operated by the state, such as health care facilities, prisons and jails, according to the law.

Fines will be $25 after two notices of violation, the law states. The fines are not to exceed $300 in year.

The bill does not include straws made from nonplastic materials such as paper, pasta, sugar cane, wood, bamboo or metal.

“Lots of people like them,” Bill Mintsiveris, manager of the 5th Street Diner in Great Falls, said of straws.

“But it’s not bad for us,” he said of the bill. “It would save on overhead. Straws do cost money.”

He said it likely would be tough for wait staff to learn not to include straws with meals.

Plastic straws have come under fire for environmental reasons. A 2017 study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz found that 91 percent of the plastic used is not recycled and instead ends up in landfills or the ocean, the website Squareup.com reported.

In July Seattle became the first city to ban plastic straws with violators subject to a $250 fine. A new law started Jan. 1 in California banning full-service restaurants from giving out straws, however, customers will be provided one upon request.

The bill, which is slightly longer than one page, defines a “single-use plastic straw” as a disposable tube made mostly of plastic” derived from either petroleum or a biologically based polymer, incorporating corn or other plant components, that is used to transfer a beverage from a container to the mouth of the person consuming the beverage and that typically is used one time before disposal.

Malek said Montana Audubon and the Montana Environmental Information Center are in support of the bills.

The Montana NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) said last week in its newsletter that it did not support SB 120 or SB 121.

The NFIB, which describes itself as advocates for small and independent business owners, notes that paper straws would be three-times the cost of plastic straws. SB 121 would establish a fee of 4 cents for each disposable carryout bag used in any retail store. Retailer would have to keep an accounting of the money raised by this bill and submit it to the Montana Department of Revenue each quarter, the NFIB states.

The bill also requires that all paper grocery bags be 100 percent recyclable and forces retailers to start a carry out bag fee. The fee is to be paid to the Department of Revenue.

The bags are to be 40 percent postconsumer recycled content, be 100 percent recyclable and display “Please Recycle this Bag” on the bag’s exterior.

HB 165 would phase out the use of Styrofoam in food-related businesses. The bill says Styrofoam poses a threat to fish and wildlife, takes up space in landfills and “threatens the right of each Montanan to a clean and healthful environment.”

The law would begin Jan. 1, 2022, and no restaurant or food establishment in Montana could use polystyrene foam containers. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, a restaurant, food establishment, resort, or hotel in the state may not serve, provide or package prepared food or beverages in polystyrene foam containers.

The bill states that beginning Jan. 1, 2024, a food packager in the state may not package meat, eggs, bakery products, or other food in a polystyrene foam container.

Exemptions are allowed if the law causes undue hardship or if the applicant will use it transportation, construction, health or safety.

The bill includes a fiscal note, saying it requires the Department of Environmental Quality to create a program to phase out Styrofoam. Costs for the bill are $93,000 in Fiscal Year 2021, $126,391 in 2022 and $128,000 in 2023.

Swanson said she was concerned that if Styrofoam meat containers are phased out, there will be no suitable, sanitary replacement.

Griffin agreed.

“Styrofoam is used because it does what it does so well, it protects products,” he said.

Earlier efforts by Montana legislators to ban Styrofoam have failed.

Several cities nationwide, including Washington, D.C., have banned or partially banned use of Styrofoam, according to www.producebiopak.com.

HB 165 will be heard 10 a.m. Jan. 28, in room 172 by House Business and Labor committee.