Resolution Relating to RESOLUTION________

Sponsor(s): Councilors Shannon,

MARCH 5, 2019 ANNUAL CITY MEETING – Roof, Paul, Mason
ADVISORY BALLOT QUESTION RE Introduced: ____________________
Referred to: ____________________
SINGLE USE PLASTIC REDUCTION POLICY
______________________________
Action: ________________________
Date: __________________________
Signed by Mayor: ________________

CITY OF BURLINGTON
In the year Two Thousand Nineteen ………………………………………………………………………
Resolved by the City Council of the City of Burlington, as follows:

1 That WHEREAS, single-use plastic carryout bags are made of nonrenewable resources and plastic never
2 biodegrades and only breaks down into smaller and smaller particles which seep into soils or are carried into
3 rivers, Lake Champlain, and the world’s oceans posing a threat to animal life and the natural food chain; and
4 WHEREAS, worldwide, a trillion single-use plastic bags are used each year, nearly 2 million each
5 minute; and
6 WHEREAS, currently 100 billion plastic bags pass through the hands of U.S. consumers every year—
7 almost one bag per person each day. Laid end-to-end, they could circle the equator 1,330 times; and
8 WHEREAS, the United Nations and International Community are taking action to protect our land and
9 waterways from plastics including:
10  In Kenya as of 2017, anyone who’s found using, producing, or selling a plastic bag faces up to four
11 years in jail or a $40,000 fine.
12  Zimbabwe has banned expanded polystyrene (EPS), a Styrofoam-like material used for food
13 containers. Fines for violations run between $30 and $5,000.
14  In Australia, there are statewide bans on single-use plastic bags in South Australia, the Australian
15 Capital Territory, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.
16  In 2015, France banned plastic bags, and in 2016, it extended the ban to plastic cups, plates, and
17 cutlery to be fully rolled out by 2020.
18  Starting in 2002, the Irish government put in place a $.15-per-bag plastic bag consumption tax.
19  Currently, the European Commission is proposing a ban on 10 single-use plastic items including forks
20 and knives, straws, and plates; and
21 WHEREAS, over 49 million Americans live in communities that have passed plastic bag bans or fees;
22 and
23 WHEREAS, extruded Polystyrene (EPS) products are not recyclable in Vermont; and
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Resolution Relating to MARCH 5, 2019 ANNUAL CITY MEETING –
ADVISORY BALLOT QUESTION RE
SINGLE USE PLASTIC REDUCTION POLICY

24 WHEREAS, EPS photo-degrades, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, but it never goes
25 away. Fish and other aquatic wildlife often mistake the pieces of foam for food, ingest them, and suffer harm
26 as a result; and
27 WHEREAS, straws frequently get sorted out during the recycling process, due to their light weight,
28 and end up in waterways; and
29 WHEREAS, companies such as Starbucks, Ikea, and McDonalds have all recognized the negative
30 environmental impact of plastic straws and have started to provide alternatives to plastic straws; and
31 WHEREAS, in 2006, the United Nations Environment Program estimated that every square mile of
32 ocean has approximately 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it; and
33 WHEREAS, reducing waste, recycling and purchasing recyclable or compostable food service ware
34 products play an important part in keeping our land, air, and water clean; and
35 WHEREAS, at least two thirds of the world’s fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion; and
36 WHEREAS, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050 unless people stop
37 using single-use plastic items such as plastic bags and plastic bottles according to figures cited by the United
38 Nations;
39 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council places the following advisory
40 question on the ballot of the March 5, 2019 Annual City Meeting:
41 “Shall we, the voters of the City of Burlington advise and encourage the City Council to enact a single
42 use plastic reduction policy by city ordinance for the purpose of reducing plastic waste, including a ban and/or
43 other waste reduction policies on single use plastic bags, plastic stirrers, plastic straws, and Styrofoam
44 (Extruded Polystyrene) food containers?”
45
46
47
48 lb/EBlackwood/Resolutions 2019/Advisory Ballot Question re Single Use Plastic Reduction Policy (3-5-19 Annual City Meeting)
49 1/3/19