Questions Remain as Bozeman Readies for Ban on Single-Use Plastics
Passed by voters this month, the ban goes into effect next May, barring a potential legal challenge
By Isabel Hicks for Montana Free Press
Bozeman city officials and grocery stores are hammering out the details of a ballot initiative banning single-use plastics after voters overwhelmingly supported it.
The Bozeman Plastics Ordinance passed by 63% on Election Day, with some 18,800 Bozemanites voting in support and 10,800 voting against. The initiative bans establishments from providing single-use plastic carryout bags, styrofoam containers and packing materials, and makes plastic straws and stirrers only available upon a customer’s request.
The ban goes into effect May 1, 2025. The ordinance also charges the city with providing educational materials reminding people to bring reusable bags and enforcing the ordinance, with a $1,000 fine for the first violation and a $2,000 fine for subsequent violations.
The ordinance faced several hurdles to get on the ballot, and its critics say its broad, vague language makes it subject to legal challenges.
Takami Clark, spokesperson for the city of Bozeman, said it was too early to answer questions about outreach to establishments, plans for enforcement and associated costs for the city. She highlighted the resolution the city commission passed in 2022 declaring support for banning single-use plastics.
“The City of Bozeman is preparing to assist as described in the ordinance,” Clark said in an emailed statement. “We are currently in the midst of researching the ordinance and mapping out our next steps, and we will be prepared to share more information on our involvement as we get closer to the effective date of May 2025.”
Travis Frandsen, president of Town and Country Foods (TNC), said the three stores in Bozeman will start preparing for the plastics ban after the holidays. He also is waiting for city officials to give direction about what exactly to phase out. In addition to plastic bags, plastic deli containers and cutlery will go away, he said.
While TNC fully supports the change, alternatives to plastic historically tend to cost more and not work as well, Frandsen said. Plastic is just so cheap it makes sense it became so popular, he said.
TNC offers customers cardboard boxes, and plastic or paper bags to carry groceries, Frandsen said, and plastic bags are by far the most common choice. He said the plan is to focus on boxes so as not to skyrocket paper bag use. The stores will also push customers to remember their reusable bags, likely through signage, and potentially have a bin of reusable bags available for people who do forget.
“We’ll know more once we get into 2025,” Frandsen said. “But that it did pass by so much, that definitely tells us that it probably won’t be as problematic as it could have been once it goes into place,” Frandsen said.
Rory Sandoval, general manager of the Bozeman Co-op, applauded the plastics ban. The co-op stores haven’t used plastic bags in over 10 years in an effort to reduce waste, Sandoval said. Their to-go containers and cutlery are also compostable.
While the new law won’t impact the way the co-op does business, Sandoval said he hopes other stores look to them as a role model for plastic reduction.
Still, the ban has received pushback, with some saying it will be subject to legal challenges.
Chris Cargill, president of the Mountain States Policy Center, published an analysis of the initiative before the election. In an interview with Montana Free Press, he described the ban as “legally fraught” and “bad public policy.”
As written, the civil penalties for violations exceed what is allowed under Montana state law, Cargill said. The law also allows the city to fine the owner of the property where a violation occurs, potentially putting landlords at risk for their tenants’ actions.
Cargill said there’s a “very good chance” the initiative is challenged in court, with the Mountain States Policy Center potentially bringing a lawsuit before May.
Aside from the legal ambiguities, Cargill also questioned if the ban would have an environmental benefit. He noted a University of Georgia study that found when cities in California banned single-use plastics, the sales of small trash bags skyrocketed. People end up finding alternatives, and you have to question if those alternatives are really better, he said.
Cargill also noted that people are good at reusing plastic bags, often using them as lunch bags, trash can liners or to clean up after their pets.
John Meyer, executive director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, described criticism of the ban as “the usual squawking.” Cottonwood was a champion behind the ban, winning a lawsuit that invalidated a state law saying local governments and citizens couldn’t ban single-use plastics and clearing the initiative’s path to the ballot.
“People don’t like change, and this is going to change the way that things operate in Bozeman,” Meyer said.
Meyer said the initiative language was “intentionally broad” so the city could determine the logistics of enforcement.
While it’s possible someone could sue to invalidate the initiative, given the legal challenges of getting it on the ballot, Meyer said it’s unlikely given how much it passed by. If voters were more split, litigation would feel more likely, he said.
Overall, Meyer said his team is happy with the results. People have been working on this issue for years, and nearly 75 people helped gather signatures outside grocery stores in Bozeman.
The passage is a “beacon of hope” for people who care about the environment, Meyer said. It will undoubtedly inspire similar efforts in other cities in the future, he said.
Editor’s note: John Meyer, director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, is married to Montana Free Press reporter Amanda Eggert, who did not participate in the reporting or editing of this article.
Plastic is killing the planet, and frivolous (some single-use plastics have to be used for medical purposes, for example) single-use plastics are the worst.