Efforts by conservative legislators in the US state of Texas to make it illegal for municipalities to impose bans, or even charges, on plastic carrier bags – mirroring legislation passed recently by the neighbouring state of Arizona – appear to be hung in the state legislature. This is despite support by Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, who has labelled such “ridiculous and unnecessary” restrictions as prime examples of the state being “California-ized.” In 2014, California became the first US state to enact a ban on thin, single-trip plastic bags – see Plasteurope.com of 02.09.2014.

With less than a month to go before the Texas legislature recesses for the summer, reports say bills to overrule bag fees imposed by cities such as Dallas and Brownsville, along with a ban on single-trip bags levied by the city of Austin, have not yet received committee hearings. Broader bills that could affect a variety of municipal regulations, including bag ordinances, also appear to have stalled. With this in mind, a coalition of bag manufacturers and recyclers is calling on the courts to overturn the Dallas restrictions. Four companies, including Hilex Poly Co (Hartsville, South Carolina / USA; http://novolex.com), Superbag Operating Ltd (Houston, Texas / USA; www.superbag.com), The Inteplast Group (Livingston, New Jersey / USA; www.inteplast.com) and Advance Polybag Inc (API, Sugar Land, Texas / USA; www.apicorp.com), have filed a suit against the city over an ordinance, which levies a 5 cents-per-bag charge on single-trip carrier bags – whether plastic or paper. They contend that this unnecessarily hampers their business and results in higher costs for consumers and retailers.

The parties to the suit claim also that the ordinance violates Texas law and is invalid because it was passed despite not being in accord with the state’s Health and Safety Code. This prohibits local entities from assessing fees on sale or use of a container or package in a manner not authorised by state laws. The companies are seeking a Declaratory Judgment invalidating the ordinance and a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement. They say the charges would unnecessarily curb sales of single-trip carrier bags, require short manufacturing runs and additional expenses for printing bags as well as forcing them to expand warehouse space to accommodate multiple bag-identification codes. Under the Dallas rules, reusable bags must carry printed information about their recyclability.

City officials said they were “disappointed” that the plaintiffs saw need for legal action, especially as Hilex had expressed support for the move during the planning phase. Texas news reports, however, suggest that Dallas’ original plan was to ban disposable carrier bags altogether, so the company may have seen the charge as the less onerous option. In a statement, Hilex senior vice president of sustainability, Mark Daniels, said: “The plastic bag manufacturing and recycling industry has invested millions in new technologies and education programs to enhance and promote the sustainability of this 100% recyclable product. Bag bans, taxes or fees do not have a meaningful impact on reducing litter or waste.”

In the US as a whole, conservatives’ interest in preventing local bans or restrictions in particular for environmental protection purposes is heightening, news reports say. Along with Arizona, which additionally has made it illegal for municipalities to ban or restrict expanded polystyrene (EPS) and other disposable containers, the state of Florida has also prohibited local authorities from banning plastic bags. Other conservative states, including Missouri, are said to be considering similar legislation. In Texas, Republican state representative Matt Rinaldi, who authored the bill prohibiting the bag restrictions, is quoted by the newspaper Dallas Morning News as saying that, although it is” troubling” the legislation is not being acted on speedily, “one of the more promising developments is that this may be decided in court.”

Some commentators on the Texas debate said lawmakers’ inattention to the bag issue may reflect the time-consuming discussions of what many see as “weightier” matters, including overturning local bans on fracking such as that passed by the city of Denton last November. In reaction to this, the state legislature has already approved a measure to pre-empt cities from banning fracking and enacting other ordinances related to oil and gas.