New draft of single-use plastics ordinance to be reviewed by Ambler’s Borough Council on May 3rd

A preliminary draft of a proposed ordinance that would impact the use of single-use plastics within the Borough of Ambler was recently posted to the borough’s website (view here).

A similar ordinance was prepared in the past, but members of the borough council decided to not take action on it due to the impact of the pandemic on local businesses, especially restaurants. This new version was drafted by the borough’s Environmental Advisory Council at the request of the borough council.

The text of the preliminary draft states the purpose of the ordinance is to “reduce the use of single-use plastic bags, expanded polystyrene food service products, and single-use plastic utensils by retail establishments within the Borough of Ambler.” Two additional purposes were to reduce litter in the community and lessen the impact of landfills.

According to the post on the borough’s website, this preliminary draft will be reviewed by the borough council during the committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at Ambler’s borough hall.

One restaurant owner we spoke to believes that this new version of the ordinance is more prohibitive than the previous version and that it is still difficult to obtain the supplies needed to replace single-use plastics.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.