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Greenport Village to host discussion on plastic bag ban tonight

JENNIFER GUSTAVSON FILE PHOTO | Tonight’s roundtable discussion on banning plastic bags in Greenport Village is set for 5 p.m. tonight at the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Greenport Village officials will hold a roundtable discussion tonight to gather feedback on banning plastic bags at local stores.

The village code committee began preliminary discussions in December to determine the feasibility of restricting single-use plastic bags given out by retailers. The move aims to decrease litter and help improve the environment.

East Hampton and Southampton villages already outlaw plastic bags, but a move to ban them townwide in Southampton failed last year in a party-line vote.

Earlier this month, Southold Town officials announced they are also looking into the feasibility of legislation banning plastic bags.

During the village code committee meeting June 13, Mayor David Nyce said he believed partnering with the town is the best way to approach drafting the proposed law.

The village has invited the Southold Town Board, North Fork Audubon, The Nature Conservancy and Group for the East End to the meeting. Mayor David Nyce said Greenport’s largest retailer, the IGA supermarket, which has another location in Southold, has also been invited.

In addition to a plastic bag ban, the mayor said other options, such as the use of biodegradable, corn-based dissolvable single-use bags, will also be discussed.

Tonight’s meeting is set for 5 p.m. in the Little Red Schoolhouse on Front Street.

Pick up Thursday’s paper and check suffolktimes.com again later this week to read about the meeting.

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