We have one week to ban plastic shopping bags in Maryland

Roadside plastic bags in Hyattsville.

The Maryland legislative session ends for the year at midnight on Monday, April 12th. Any bills that haven’t passed by then are dead, and one of those bills could be the Plastic Bag Reduction Act (SB223/HB314) if it doesn’t get a vote in the Senate Finance Committee soon.

We all know how destructive single-use plastics can be to human health and the environment, and we know that we can mitigate that harm by reducing the amount of plastic that we use, including single-use plastic bags. Are you sick of seeing littered plastic bags in our neighborhoods, along our roadways, in our parks, and in our waterways? Now is the time to contact the Senate Finance Committee, and your Senator, and let them know how important HB 314 is to you. You can also use this handy customizable email by our friends at Oceana.

We need a vote in the Senate Finance Committee as soon as possible so the bill can be debated and passed on the Senate floor before next Monday. HB 314 has already passed the House of Delegates, so if it passes the Senate without being amended then it will go to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Please act now. Thank you!

Interested in what plastic policies are in place around the country? Check out the map below from our partners at the Surfrider Foundation.