Plastic bags in a grocery cart. Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images.
Plastic bags in a grocery cart. Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images.

The ban on single-use plastic bags in Baltimore County starts November 1. While it hasnโ€™t taken effect, Republican Councilman Todd Crandell is looking to make some changes.

Crandell said liquor stores and restaurants shouldnโ€™t charge customers five cents for paper carryout bags. Thatโ€™s one facet of the upcoming law which he wants addressed now.

โ€œThe law goes into effect late this fall,โ€ said the District 7 councilman. โ€œAnd businesses have to make plans on how they’re going to react and reorganize to do what they need to do.โ€

Suzanne Richardson, with the Greater Baltimore Sierra Club, testified in opposition to the changes Tuesday. โ€œThe bill was only approved six months ago. Changes at this time would simply sow confusion,โ€ said Richardson.

Other testifiers said thatย Bill 53-23ย would diminish behaviors driving people to โ€˜think in a more ecological way.โ€™ One resident, Beth Miller, said she opposed the amendments because she didnโ€™t โ€œwant to remove [recyclable] plastic bags from the Chesapeake Bay for years to come.โ€

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.