Update: With Russell out, Southold bag ban talk postponed

Update: A discussion on whether to ban local retailers from supplying plastic bags to customers will have to wait another two weeks.

In the absence of Supervisor Scott Russell at Tuesday morning’s board work session, other members decided to skip the agenda item until their next work session to let Mr. Russell weigh in.

The potential move to ban the bags comes at the request of East End Supervisors and Mayors Association members who recently proposed a regional bag ban following the success of a similar policy passed by Southampton Village in 2011.

The board’s next work session is Tuesday, June 17, at 9 a.m. in Town Hall.

Original story: Plastic retail bags could be a thing of the past in Southold under a new proposal aimed at eliminating their use across the East End.

East End Supervisors and Mayors Association members recently pitched the regional bag ban following the success of a similar law passed by Southampton Village in 2011 — that was subsequently lauded by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Southold Town Board work session members are expected to discuss the proposal, which was first introduced by the association in April, at this morning’s work session.

The measure states that “any person engaged in retail sales shall provide only reusable bags and/or recyclable paper bags as checkout bags to customers,” and exempts plastic produce bags or plastic bags measuring 28 inches by 36 inches or larger in size.

Fines would range from $100 to $250 per offense.

The board first talked about a plastic bag ban in 2012, but did not move forward with the idea. Southold Supervisor Scott Russell recently told The Suffolk Times that he wouldn’t favor banning plastic bags unless neighboring towns did the same.

Work session begins at 9 a.m. on Tuesday in the Town Hall meeting room.

View the full agenda below:

2014-06-03 Town Board – Full Agenda