City leaders in Denver are looking at the possibility of banning or placing restrictions on single-use plastic bags, straws and utensils. Such bans can have a positive impact on the promotional products industry as they can help stimulate sales of reusable products, such as branded tote bags.

While no ban ordinance is yet proposed, the Denver City Council began discussing a potential clampdown on the throw-away plastics at a recent meeting of its policy committee, according to Denverite. “I think it could open a lot of doors that I am personally excited about,” City Council President Jolon Clark told Denverite.

Some individuals have already taken to social media to express support for the potential plastic prohibitions.

This would be a good thing! Reduce your plastic usage. Demand alternatives from stores and their products. https://t.co/G0W85D5Vcs via @denverite

— SJ (@dnvr_) December 10, 2018

Certain other Colorado cities have bag bans in place. In doing their grocery shopping, consumers in Aspen, for example, formerly ran through 200,000 to 300,000 single-use plastic bags per month, according to the city. But now, says an Aspen environmental health specialist, shoppers are leaving stores with about 20,000 reusable bags.

Such stats should prove encouraging to promotional products distributors. Furthermore, promo pros can not only provide branded reusable bags to groceries, but any business or organization with target customers/audiences that are all or partly in a city/municipality where disposable bag bans or restrictions are on the books.

Efforts to ban single-use plastic bags –and related disposable products like straws and Styrofoam containers – have been increasing in the United States and internationally. Washington, for example, is working toward becoming the second state after California to institute a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.

Charleston, the largest city in South Carolina, recently banned plastic bags, straws and foam containers. While California was the first to enact a state-wide ban, Hawaii has effectively done the same, since all of its most populous counties have passed their own plastic bag bans. Major cities like Seattle have authorized bag restrictions, and scores of other smaller municipalities have done the same, including the Philadelphia suburb Narberth, and Lambertville, NJ. Overseas, leaders in Austria recently approved a ban on most plastic bags. Set to take effect in 2020, the legislation prohibits all bags that aren’t fully degradable.

Austria to Ban Most Plastic Bags Starting in 2020 https://t.co/ufIGltV0CZ

— Edulicious (@Edulicious88) December 7, 2018

Of course, there has been pushback on local bag bans in certain states, including Ohio and Texas. Earlier this year, for instance, the Texas Supreme Court struck down a bag ban in Laredo, which led to Austin no longer enforcing its long-standing bag ban.

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