BIDDEFORD — Saco has one, so does Kennebunk, and soon Biddeford may join its neighbors by becoming the latest community in Maine to adopt a ban on plastic bags.

The ordinance, which has been vetted by the Policy Committee and the Solid Waste Management Commission and unanimously recommended for passage by both, would prohibit providing single-use, plastic carryout bags for free or sale at supermarkets and other retailers. As they do in Saco, stores could provide reusable bags or paper bags for free or purchase.

The Biddeford City Council will consider the issue on Tuesday. At that first reading, the public can comment on the matter, at a second and final vote, the public is only allowed to bring up concerns if amendments are offered.

“The purpose of the ordinance,” Solid Waste Management Commission member Bernard Neveux said, “is to remove plastics from the waste stream … as it contaminates solid waste and recycling.”

According to Public Works Director Jeff Demers, the biggest culprit of recycling contamination is plastic bags.

Banning plastic bags, Neveux said, has been discussed at least since 2013 when the city instituted curbside recycling pickup.

Recently, the city has stepped up efforts to reduce recycling contamination.

In an effort to do so on March 5, the City Council voted that grandfathered facilities — multi-family residences of six or more units and other properties that would require commercial pickup of recycling if not for their grandfathered status — must file a recycling plan with the city, as well as the facility’s owner and contact information. The plan is to include a “procedure to ensure only acceptable recycling materials are placed in the recycling container for curbside collection,” according to the ordinance amendment.

The city’s Public Works Department conducted studies and learned that grandfathered facilities were the biggest culprits of contaminated recycling. It examined material deposited in recycling receptacles from the 54 multi-family properties that use the city’s curbside recycling pickup program, and found that between 30 to 35 percent of that product was contaminated, Demers said during a telephone interview in December.

Overall, Demers said on Thursday, the contamination rate of the city’s recycling is 18 to 20 percent. Pinetree, the company that collects the city’s recycling would like the contamination rate of all the city’s recyclable material brought down to 5 percent or lower. If that doesn’t happen in the near future, the city could incur financial penalties he said.

Recycling contamination is a national issue.

The major outlet for the country’s recyclable material has been China, Demers said. But on Jan. 1, 2018, that country put in place its National Sword policy that instituted stricter guidelines for the type of material it accepts. Because China stopped accepting many forms of recyclable material from plastics to unsorted paper, instead of getting paid for recyclables, it now costs the city money to get rid of this material, Demers said.

Based on the experiences of other communities, he said, he doesn’t believe residents will object to the plastic bag ban.

“I was asked by the Policy Committee to reach out to other communities and find out if there was any push back,” Demers said. After contacting officials in Portland, Lewiston, Saco and Kennebunk, he said he found “there was no major push back” from shoppers there.

According to the proposed ordinance, stores will be able to use single-use plastic bags to deplete existing inventory until Sept. 30.

Under the proposal, the Code Enforcement Office will enforce the ordinance, and fines for violations would be $250 for the first violation in a one-year period and up to $500 for subsequent violations within a year.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 780-9014 or dmendros@journaltribune.com

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