Elgin City Council moves to ban single-use plastic bags at large retailers
The Elgin City Council gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a ban on single-use plastic checkout bags at larger retailers. If approved, Elgin would be one of the only municipalities in the state with such an ordinance.
If the council gives final approval during its March 11 meeting, the ban would take effect in June 2027. That would allow time for community education and retailer preparation.
Mayor David Kaptain said Elgin has been out front on issues like this before, citing the implementation of police body cameras, a recent ban on THC products and others.
“All were addressed by the city before the state did, and now the state and federal government are moving to change those things,” he said. “I would anticipate that this will follow that path.”
About 42 retailers in Elgin would be potentially subject to the ordinance. Restaurants, gas station convenience stores and small retail establishments with 12 or fewer Illinois locations and 250 or fewer full-time employees would be exempt.
If approved, retailers would be allowed to offer a recycled paper bag for 10 cents, with the fee being retained by the retailer. SNAP, WIC and similar food assistance program recipients would be exempt from paying the fee. Sales tax would not be applied to the paper bag cost.
Representatives from numerous local retailers attended Wednesday’s meeting to voice their opposition.
Roy Coombes, manager of the Walmart in Elgin, said he previously managed a location in California where the local municipality enacted a similar ban. He said a number of his customers began shopping at a different Walmart in a neighboring town. He said he’d like to see communities wait for statewide legislation.
“It’s puts us all on a level playing field,” Coombes said. “My concern is we’re going to chase those people in outlying areas to neighboring markets to spend their money, and I don’t want that to happen.”
Council member Rose Martinez, who, along with Steve Thoren, cast the only two no votes, said banning plastic bags was a good idea, but should be done at the state or federal level.
“We need to make smart decisions that serve all of Elgin,” she said. “This is not a race. If it’s not done correctly, we all lose.”
While several municipalities in Illinois have implemented fees to discourage plastic bag use, Elgin would join Evanston as the only cities with bans. Still, many of the council members in favor of the ban didn’t think it went far enough.
Council member Tish Powell supported the ordinance as a “starting point,” but said they need to go further in the future to include more retailers.
“I just want to make this very clear that I want a plan for how we phase folks that are left out of this into the mix, I think that’s only fair,” she said. “Our true goal is to reduce plastic bag usage.”
Numerous community members voiced their support for the ban during public comment. Gary Swick of Friends of the Fox River said plastic bags are “pretty much everywhere” in the watershed when they do clean ups.
“I have never found a paper bag or reusable bag floating in the river or hanging in a tree,” Swick said.
Enforcement would be conducted by the city’s neighborhood services department, with an emphasis on education and voluntary compliance during the initial rollout period.