Plastic Bags Banned June 1

STONE HARBOR – The ban on single-use plastic bags and other non-recyclable containers and utensils here began June 1. 
The ordinance was months in the making, saw numerous changes as it made its way to adoption, and had the support of many in the business community who must implement it.
For the borough, the ordinance represents that first best effort to come to grips with the emerging crisis in recycling and the dangers that unrecycled plastic and related materials present to the waterways.
Working together, the Borough of Avalon crafted a similar ordinance to that in Stone Harbor, providing a uniform approach across the island.
As the deadline approached, an expected number of requests from businesses arrived before the governing body requesting temporary exemptions from requirements for as little as one week to as much as six months. The longer exemptions would effectively free the business from compliance for this summer.
So far, Stone Harbor Borough Council has been accommodating, granting extensions for compliance. The reasons for the requests are varied, including a need to finish using existing stock, to delays from distributors, to, in some cases, confusion over what meets the requirements of the ordinance.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour said that the ordinance requires that products meet standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). She added that ASTM’s website charges for access to the specific information that local businesses were trying to access. In order to relieve the business owners of that additional cost, the borough would be posting the specific information on its website.
A letter given to the council by the local Chamber of Commerce reiterates the fact that the chamber is working with its members to educate them on the ordinance and the hardship request process for those who may need extra time.
At the May 21 council meeting, five requests for extensions were approved.
A sticking point with some of the business owners is the broad extent of the ban on the use of non-recyclable materials which directs businesses to use compostable materials that cannot be recycled in Cape May County.
For John Wilson at Jack’s Shack, it is putting the cart before the horse.
“The ordinance directs us to use compostable utensils yet the county MUA (Municipal Utilities Authority) has no ability to recycle compostable material,” Wilson said. “We are paying more for something that will end up in the landfill anyway.
“Why not focus on the plastic bags first,” he asked, and then move to other materials as the county develops better ways to deal with them?
The chamber’s letter carried a similar message of frustration that the MUA will not have a compostable recycling capability for several years.
The chamber letter recommends that better education and signage be used to explain that compostable material does not go into recycling bins but rather is to be considered part of the trash headed to the landfill.
Most of the business owners who have expressed concerns regarding the ordinance are also expressing a willingness to work with the borough to make the implementation a positive one. 
Much of the focus from the chamber in its letter is on the need for simple and consistent signage. The businesses want help in how to tell customers what to do with the products they are receiving when they are done with them, a simple and consistent understanding about disposal.
The chamber is also asking council to move on actions that would involve more than businesses in the recycling effort. The letter asks for signage on disposal bins in the business district and at the beaches in order to guide people and avoid contamination of recycling bins.
Business Administrator Jill Gougher said that the borough has reached out to major distributors to businesses to give them copies of the ordinance.
Davies-Dunhour added that the borough Green Team would be looking into ways to help people understand proper disposal of materials they receive from businesses.
The implementation of this ordinance has been anticipated for months, but now that the moment is here many details and issues are sure to surface. What is clear is a broad buy-in to the objectives inherent in the effort.
Based on what one hears from the business community, the keys to success appear to involve continued outreach and education, developing consistency across municipalities and with the county MUA, and a willingness to tweak policy based on experience.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.