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Single-Use Plastics Presentation Provided by Dr. Lara B. Fowler at Board of Supervisors Meeting

The presentation was the result of a months-long research project by Negotiation & Dispute Resolution Design students at the direction of Dr. Fowler.
Posted on: April 22, 2022 - 3:01pm
Single-Use Plastics Presentation Provided by Dr. Lara Fowler at Board of Supervisors Meeting
Dr. Lara B. Fowler, Senior Lecturer Affiliate Faculty, School of International Affairs, Penn State Law (Photo: Screenshot, C-NET)

At the April 19th, 2022 Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting, Dr. Lara B. Fowler gave a presentation on the research project conducted by her Negotiation & Dispute Resolution Design students at Penn State relating to single-use plastics in the Centre Region.

The project stems from earlier community action on the issue in the Centre Region, namely a Fall 2018 petiton by Ferguson Township residents that resulted in the time line listed below:

singleuseplasticstimeline

After the "ban on bans" was repealed, more communites in Pennsylvania took action on plastic bags and other single-use plastics at a localized level. These actions have rebooted the conversation in the Centre Region, and Dr. Fowler's students findings on this matter are aimed to present municipalities and the public with information that should help guide their decision on actions to take on single-use plastics in the area. The study ultimately does not make a formal recommendation, but provides an encompassing view of how municipalities, states, and even other countries have been handling this issue. The study asked the following questions in order to formulate their research process and methods:

  • How have others addressed single use plastics?
  • Who is potentially interested in this region?
  • What are their interests or concerns? 
  • What could be considered for single use plastics management in this region? 

The research conducted by the students conducting the study included gathering information from 37 different entities, and interviews with 40+ people/entities.

Dr. Fowler provided a list of options that the Centre Region could engage in on the topic of single-use plastics management based on this research and examples by other entities, which includes:

  • Option #1: Voluntary Approach
    • Allows the private sector to make the decision to move towards limiting single-use plastics (ex. Trader Joe's only using brown paper bags, Wegmans recent announcement to halt plastic bags at all locations regardless of single-use plastics management policy in municipality of store locations)
    • Encourages and incentivizes consumers to opt for renewable options
  • Option #2: Fees on Single-Use Plastics
  • Option #3: Prohibiting the Use of Certain Products
    • 10 states now prohibit single use plastic bags (CA, CT, DE, HI, ME, NY, OR, VT, WA, NJ)
    • 18 states have “ban on bans”- preemption of local action
    • Numerous countries banned single use bags (Bangladesh 1st in 2002; Canada recently)
    • Range of what is regulated (plastic bags, straws, polystyrene, other)
  • Option #4: Combination of Ban + Alternative products + Fee

The study further discusses these options in detail, while also discussing challenges faced regarding this issue among store-owners, manufacturers, and residents based on interviews. Discussion of the implementation of regulations, possibilities of exemptions, enforcement, plastic alternatives, and unintended consequences of laws surrounding the management of single-use plastics.

Dr. Fowler and her students plan to present this information at the upcoming Penn State Sustainable Communities Collaborative Spring Expo on April 27, 2022 from 5:00pm-7:00pm. A summary report, and further presentations to local Centre Region municipalities is planned for the future.

For the full presentation, please see Dr. Lara B. Fowler's PowerPoint presentation here, and to watch the entire video recorded presentation, please follow this link to C-NET's coverage of the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors Meeting on April 19, 2022.