Pittsburgh City Council approves plastic bag ban – CBS Pittsburgh

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a ban on plastic bags.

CONTINUE READING: A proposed law would ban single-use plastic bags in Pittsburgh

The ban will apply to all shops in the city in exactly one year.

Customers must bring their own bags or pay 10 cents for a paper bag in stores. Restaurants are also having to switch to paper bags for takeout orders.

CONTINUE READING: Pittsburgh plastic bag ban moves forward

City councilor Erika Straßburger introduced the bill last year to help eliminate pollution and litter.

“On average, plastic bags are used for 12 minutes and then gone forever. There are so many reasons (to ban plastic bags) for our quality of life and for our neighborhoods, for our public health, and for future generations to be able to do something to clean up our neighborhoods and make Pittsburgh a better place to live in.” That said Strasbourger last week when the bill left committee.

Strassburger said the bill won’t come into force for a year, so there’s time to educate residents and business owners.