Jackson bans plastic bags, focuses on sustainability
The town of Jackson’s ban on single use plastic bags is now in effect. Plastic bags are no longer offered at large grocery stores and retailers in Jackson. The ban officially went into effect Monday. This is part of the town and Teton County, Wyoming’s Road to Zero Waste resolution. Both plan to have 60 percent waste diversion by 2030.
“I think this is sending a really clear message that the town and the county takes sustainability here very seriously,” said Carrie Bell, waste diversion and outreach coordinator for Teton County Integrated Solid Waste and Recycling. “We see a lot of tourism and we want to send that message to all tourists that when you’re here visiting our town, this is what we expect. There’s no more single use plastic at the point of sale.”
While the ban is in effect in Jackson, the county plans on passing a resolution in support of the ordinance. Bell says it will remove 5 million plastic bags from the community’s waste stream.
“Some people think that, you know, eventually they’ll biodegrade,” she said. “But really they photo-degrade. So they just break down into these tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny pieces that eventually get pushed into our water ways.”
While large stores can no longer provide single use plastic bags, they can provide paper bags. However, it will cost the consumer 20 cents plus tax per bag. The money will be split between the retailer and the town. The town will put the money toward education and outreach for single use plastic bags.
While it will be a big change, the town sees it as an important one.
“We are asking for the consumer to change their habits and to no longer rely on a business to provide a single use item for free,” Bell said “So changing habits, remembering to bring your bags can be really hard, but I would say 99 percent of the feedback I’m getting is extremely positive.”
The ban will go into effect for smaller retailers Nov. 1. The town and county’s next step on the road to zero waste is municipal food waste composting, which will get started next year.
