Page 50 - Plastics News January 2017
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Michigan latest state to limit Georgia recycler faces OSHA
local government bag taxes fines
Michigan has become the latest state to pass legislation AGainesville, Georgia., plastics recycling facility
preventing its cities and counties from taxing or is facing more than $100,000 in potential fines
restricting plastic bags. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed a law from the federal government due to alleged safety
on December 28 that in effect bans local governments from and health violations.
imposing fees or bans on a wide range of packaging. The Nemo Plastics Inc. is being cited by the Occupational
state legislation came in response to plans by Washtenaw
County, which includes Ann Arbor and the University of Safety and Health Administration for alleged problems
Michigan, to put a 10-cent fee on plastic and paper bags surrounding explosion and fire hazards due to dust
in grocery stores. The state legislation came in response accumulation, amputation hazards due to missing
to plans by Washtenaw County, which includes Ann Arbor machine guards and failure to develop a noise
and the University of Michigan, to put a 10-cent fee monitoring program, the agency said. The company
also did not provide employees personal protective
on plastic and clothing and failed to implement a hazardous energy
paper bags in control program that would prevent machinery
grocery stores. start-up during service and maintenance work, OSHA
The Michigan alleged. Nemo also is being cited for alleged “failure
Restaurant to evaluate spaces such as silos to determine if they
Association, were permit-required confined spaces,” OSHA said.
which led the The company received citations for 21 alleged
push for the “serious” and three “other-than-serious” violations,
s t a t e l a w, the agency said. The alleged other-than-serious
called it a “key violations included exposing workers to electrical
victory” against hazards, not providing certain information for
“frivolous regulation at the local level.” But a member employees using respirators and failure to post
of the State House and former Washtenaw County official combustible dust warning signs, OSHA said.
who favored the 10-cent fee called it an intrusion in OSHA is proposing penalties totaling $133,443, the
the ability of local governments to manage bag waste, agency said. Nemo Plastics is based in Atlanta and
including over $200,000 in costs to government recycling handles more than 75 million pounds of post-industrial
facilities. and post-consumer materials each year, according to
the company’s website. The company also handles
The new state law is not limited to plastic and paper recycled paper, OSHA said.
bags. It also prevents local fees and bans on a broad
range of packaging for merchandise, food and beverages,
including cardboard boxes and plastic, glass and aluminum
containers. Newly-elected State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, a
Democrat who has also been a member of the Washtenaw
County Board of Commissioners since 2011, said that
the Washtenaw bag fee was designed to protect the
environment from litter and reduce the $250,000 a year
that plastic bags cost the county’s recycling facilities.
Michigan joins several other states that have passed laws
to prevent local governments from adopting their own
bag fees and bans, including Arizona, Idaho and Missouri.
• January 2017 • Plastics News 50
