PennEnvironment limited study shows compliance with Pittsburgh bag ban, but also gaps

A limited study of 50 Pittsburgh businesses revealed that most are complying with the city’s ban on plastic bags, though restaurants seem to be slower to conform than retailers.

The PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, an environmental advocacy group, randomly visited businesses throughout the city to investigate which retailers and restaurants were abiding by the bag ordinance.

Officials began to enforce the ordinance Jan. 1. It bans businesses from giving out plastic bags in most cases and requires them to charge at least 10 cents for paper bags.

Of the 50 businesses surveyed, 41 — or 82% — had ditched plastic, according to the study, made public Tuesday.

But that number represents only a small fraction of the city’s estimated 3,000 total businesses.

Pittsburgh officials have been unable to say how many of those are subject to the ban, which affects only businesses that sell goods.

The study did not take into account whether businesses were complying with other portions of the city’s bag ordinance, like the requirement to charge for paper.

Zach Barber, a clean air advocate with PennEnvironment, said the organization was “pretty excited to see overall strong compliance,” though he acknowledged there’s “obviously room for improvement.”

A recent TribLive story found many businesses felt the bag ban’s rollout was confusing and lacked proper education and enforcement. While Barber struck a more optimistic tone, he, too, pushed the city for more education and enforcement.

Ideally, Barber said, the city would hire more staff to police the bag ban. Currently, there’s only one enforcement officer tasked with handling all of the city’s outreach and enforcement.

PennEnvironment also called on the city to bolster its education efforts so that businesses that are still confused can come into compliance.

“We definitely think it’s appropriate for the city to give this a bit more attention,” Barber said.

Barber also suggested the city could send more information directly to businesses and highlight it on social media or in newsletters.

“This really should be an all-hands-on-deck team effort,” he said.

Scott McMurtry, chief of staff for Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, who sponsored the legislation, said compliance would take time.

According to the study, restaurants are lagging behind retailers in phasing out plastic.

PennEnvironment checked 22 restaurants, of which seven — or almost all of the violators in the study — still used plastic.

Barber said he believed some of those restaurants mistakenly thought takeout bags weren’t included in the ban.

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