PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) - Single-use plastic bags will soon be banned across all of Aquidneck Island.
The Newport Daily News reports the town council in Portsmouth on Monday voted to ban single-use plastic bags starting Sept. 1. The measure is aimed at protecting the environment. Newport and Middletown passed similar bans last year.
Members of the community voiced their support for the measure. Portsmouth resident Laura Reaper said it doesn’t make sense to offer single-use bags that will take years to decompose.
Councilor Paul Kesson was the lone dissenting vote. Kesson says the ordinance doesn’t go far enough and shouldn’t include exemptions for things like dry cleaning and newspaper bags.
Clean Ocean Access Executive Director Dave McLaughlin says the community needed to start somewhere. McLaughlin says the ordinance can be adjusted later.
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Information from: The Newport Daily News.
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