Plastic bags no longer are allowed at Blue Hill businesses

BLUE HILL — Plastic bags no longer are allowed at Blue Hill businesses. No more Styrofoam containers, either.

Voters at the annual Town Meeting Saturday overwhelmingly approved ordinances banning both after extensive debate.

The ordinance to ban plastic bags was passed 139-56.

Proponents discussed health and environmental issues.

Resident Jane Haldane said plastics “degrade” down to particles that resemble plankton, which the fish eat.

“We’re absorbing it into our bodies,” Haldane said. “It’s scary as heck.”

Merrill & Hinckley general store owner and former Selectman John Bannister said paper bags are more expensive than plastic, take up a great deal more space and take nearly as long to decompose as plastic does.

“The real hurt would actually come down on older people,” Bannister said. “Older people want something with handles.”

Bannister recalled one of his older customers who is a “diehard recycler” and usually brings her own bags. She forgot them one day and asked for plastic because holding a paper bag full of groceries was difficult for her.

Others thought the ordinance needed more discussion beyond one on a day with a full town meeting agenda.

“This, I think, needs more thought,” said former Fire Chief Denny Robertson.

Another resident said, “I agree with Denny. There’s too much information today. It’s a public health issue. We have to weigh small business interests. We have to weight fisheries’ interests. I would like to see plastic bags go away, but I don’t think that’s a decision for today.”

“I’m against the ordinance as it’s drafted,” said East Blue Hill resident and attorney Eric Columber, who owns Columber Law in Ellsworth. “It kicks the can to the CEO [code enforcement officer] or her designee. You’re suddenly going to make the CEO the plastic bag cop. The day-to-day enforcement of this puts a burden on the CEO. You’ll see a cost of enforcing this, maybe that’s OK.”

The plastic bag ban will not take effect immediately.

Selectman Jim Schatz said Monday it would be a few months before it takes effect. The town wants to give businesses time to deplete their plastic bag inventories.

In related business, voters also approved an ordinance banning all polystyrene containers in town. Those include Styrofoam restaurant takeout containers and the Styrofoam container that holds packaged meat.

That vote was 138-15.

Bannister, who sells ground beef, poultry and other meat in his store, spoke against the ordinance banning polystyrene.

“Feel-good legislation” was how Bannister described the ordinance. “Sixty percent of the grocery business in Blue Hill” is going to Ellsworth businesses.

“Trying to package up chicken and beef and trying to put them on paper pulp trays is impossible,” Bannister said. “The stuff doesn’t last as long and it costs three times as much.”

Moderator Scott Miller pauses during the Blue Hill Annual Town Meeting held Saturday at the Consolidated School.

PHOTO BY JENNIFER OSBORN

Bannister said Blue Hill is a town “struggling to fill empty storefronts.” The ordinances aren’t helping.

In other business, revisions to the town’s mobile vending ordinance were approved 129-48 despite urging from local business owners that this wasn’t the time to encourage food trucks and other mobile businesses to come to Blue Hill.

Business owners are concerned about mobile vendors taking sales away from those who operate storefronts and pay property taxes.

Selectman Ellen Best said the town hadn’t had any mobile vendors since the ordinance was changed in 2006. Those changes required mobile vendors to inform Blue Hill by Dec. 31 that they would want to do business the following year. The prospective vendors also had to obtain permission at the annual town meeting.

Vendors will now need to obtain a permit from selectmen outlining proposed location and hours among other details.

“It’s actually a little more structured than the other one was,” Best said.

Bill Fletcher, who is opening a restaurant downtown with his wife, Sandy, said he can’t vote on the ordinance because he resides in another town but “I’ve voted in a big way with my life savings.”

Fletcher said he thought the ordinance was a bit “slap-dash.” It allows any trucks to locate on any public property seven days a week.

“The ordinance does significantly affect local business,” Fletcher said.

Mike Astbury, who owns M.E. Astbury & Son Construction Co., cited safety issues with mobile vendors, such as food trucks.