Upper Merion Township’s Board of Supervisors Adopts “Single Use Product Regulations” Ordinance

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (July 17, 2023) – During the July 13, 2023 Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors business meeting, the Board adopted an ordinance amending the township code to create a new chapter, “Single-Use Product Regulations”, to regulate the distribution and use of single-use carry-out bags, single-use plastic straws (with certain exceptions), single-use plastic utensils, and expanded polystyrene food service products and to promote and facilitate the use of reusable bags, straws, utensils, and containers.

Effective January 1, 2024, commercial establishments are prohibited from providing single-use carry-out bags, plastic straws, and expanded polystyrene food service products to a customer. The prohibition on plastic utensils begins on July 1, 2024.

The use of single-use bags, plastic straws, plastic utensils, and expanded polystyrene food service products has severe environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, litter, harm to wildlife, ground level ozone formation, atmospheric acidification, water consumption, and solid waste generation. In addition, these products do not readily decompose.

The primary reasons for adopting the ordinance include:

• Reduction of the estimated 18.5 million plastic bags used by Upper Merion residents annually.
• Reduction of the over 2.75 tons of litter collected in our community by the Public Works Department during 2022.
• Removal of plastics, and microplastics, from our waterways and reduction of the pollution impacting our stormwater treatment facilities.
• Encouraging residents and businesses to create innovative solutions to the growing problems of single-use products.

The ordinance also adds findings, definitions, fees, requirements, enforcement, penalties, and exemptions relating to the distribution and use of single-use carry-out bags, reusable bags, single-use plastic straws, single-use plastic utensils, and expanded polystyrene food service products.

This ordinance is enacted to achieve the Township’s duties under the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the Township by minimizing the degradation, diminution, and depletion of the public natural resources within the Township and to affirmatively enact legislation designed to protect the environment within and around the Township.

The Pennsylvania Constitution states:

The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.

View the News Brief video of the meeting’s ordinance agenda item here.

Access the “Single-Use Product Regulations” ordinance here.

For more information please contact Anthony Hamaday, Upper Merion Township Manager, at ahamaday@umtownship.org.