If you had to pay a fee whenever you needed a plastic bag at the checkout, would it prompt you to remember a reusable bag? What if plastic bags were altogether banned? On the next Vermont Edition, we look at different efforts to reduce flimsy plastic bags.
Two bills are in the House Fish Wildlife Committee that would levy a fee on disposable carry-out bags, or ban them altogether. We talk with Committee Chair David Deen about his preferred approach to get reduce plastic bags, and the prospects for passing either measure before the biennium ends in 2018.
We're also joined by Brattleboro Town Manager Peter Elwell. At Town Meeting, Brattleboro voters directed their select board to ban plastic bags in town. Elwell updates on where that effort stands.
And what about the impact on retailers? Erin Sigrist of the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association joins us to explain some of their concerns. VRGA has not taken a stance on either Vermont bill.
Also on the program: This morning a frightening alert went out to parents of students in the Chittenden Central Supervisory Union that schools in Essex Junction were on lockdown due to a credible threat at Essex High School. VPR's Taylor Dobbs provided an update on the situation from Essex Junction, shortly after the high school went from a lockdown to a lockout.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
