The Park Ridge Committee of the Whole of the City Council passed the first reading of a plastic bag ban for large retail stores at the March 2 meeting.
The first vote on the ban passed without objection from anyone on the board or from anyone in the community. If it passes the next reading, it will become law, though it will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2027. The ban will affect any store over 7,500 square feet, which is approximately nine stores in the city, mostly grocery stores. This will not affect any pre-checkout bags, meaning bags picked up in the produce aisle. Stores may also still offer single-use recyclable paper bags.
The ban has been in the works for a while.
The idea began in 2024 within the sustainability commission. This kicked off city staff researching the possibility and a discussion in August. Other suburban communities have either banned single-use plastic bags or taxed them due to their environmental impact, and the city leaders felt a tax or a fee on the bags would be too difficult to impose and collect and an outright ban would not cause an undue burden. Throughout the discussion, no representative from any grocery store complained about the proposal or even met with city officials, despite their efforts, and a handful of people from the public spoke in support of a ban on plastic bags.
Drew Awsumb, the community preservation and development director, noted the idea isn’t new to the major grocers and they have already complied with other bans in nearby suburbs. The Park Ridge ban, he said, won’t be a shock.
“They’re aware the city is discussing this,” he said at the March 2 meeting. He doubted anyone from the stores would comment on the change in law, should it pass. He added that by setting the implementation for Jan. 1, everyone would have a chance to prepare for the change, and he noted some stores could discontinue plastic bags sooner.
“They’ll probably make their own decisions on their stock and when to shift over,” he said.
Alderperson John Moran said he spoke off-the-record with a manager at an unnamed grocery store and said there is some worry the baggers will have to be let go. He explained the manager told him the store hires “special needs people” to bag groceries, and they’re used to plastic bags and it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to switch to paper or to reusable customer bags.
“There’s a real concern that some of those individuals might need to be trained more or might need to be shifted to other roles in the organization, which is unfortunate in my mind,” Moran said. Still, he said he supported the ban.
“I’ll be a yes, but I really hope there aren’t any other unintended consequences that come along with it,” he said.
The city council will vote on it again at the next meeting.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.