Defend City of Athens, OH, Single-Use Plastic Bag Ban

In 2021, the State of Ohio enacted, as part of its budget bill, H.B. 110, Ohio Revised Code (“O.R.C.”) Sec. 3736.021, which states, “[a] person may use an Auxiliary Container for purposes of commerce or otherwise.” Person, as defined by the State, includes a business or an individual, and interestingly, Auxiliary Container is defined in O.R.C. Sec. 3736.32 on littering and includes single-use plastic bags (as well as many other types of containers and bags). 

The Ohio Constitution, Article XVIII, Section 3, gives municipalities the “authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws.”  This is also known as “Home Rule.” Accordingly, in May 2023, Athens City Council passed an ordinance (Ord. No. 0-25-23) stating that no store or vendor shall provide or sell a single-use, plastic carry-out bag to a customer after January 1, 2024. 

The State of Ohio has sued the City of Athens and is asking the court to invalidate the City of Athens’ law.

The Surfrider Foundation, alongside our coalition partners, Ohio Environmental Council, and Sierra Club, has filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief to defend the City of Athens’ constitutional right to regulate single-use plastic bags in furtherance of the City’s local health, safety, and sanitation efforts.