Montco’s Abington Township passes ban on single-use plastic bags

Ordinance is the first in PA to pass in 2025 and could eliminate over 21 million plastic bags per year

Last night, Thursday, February 13th, the Abington Township Board of Commissioners passed legislation which will ban the distribution of single-use plastic bags in the township. 

Through this action, Abington Township became the 37th municipality in Pennsylvania and the 15th in Montgomery County to pass legislation in the growing effort to rein in single-use plastics. They are the first Pennsylvania municipality to do so in 2025. 

As the state’s 12th largest municipality with over 50,000 residents, Abington’s passage of a plastic bag ban can serve as a model for other large municipalities across Pennsylvania to follow suit. 20% of Pennsylvanians now live in a municipality with a single-use plastic bag ban. Recent studies have shown laws like the one passed last night are incredibly effective at protecting the environment and public health. 

Plastic pollution is one of the most common forms of litter, and plastic bags in particular pose a great harm to the environment. PennEnvironment estimates that Abington residents use over 21 million single-use plastic bags annually, equivalent to over 235,000 pounds of plastic waste. 

Sadly, unlike the majority of other single-use plastic ordinances in Pennsylvania, Abington’s does not include a minimum charge for paper bags or other bags provided by retailers, a crucial provision to encourage residents to bring their own reusable alternatives when shopping. 

The ordinance is scheduled to go into effect after 180 days, and includes a ban on single-use plastic bags and a ban on expanded foam polystyrene containers like plates, cups, and takeout containers. PennEnvironment worked with the Abington Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) and members of the Board of Commissioners to draft the ordinance.

PennEnvironment’s Zero Waste Advocate Faran Savitz issued the following statement in response to the announcement:

“PennEnvironment applauds Abington for taking this step to address pollution from single-use plastics. This is a good start in the effort to tackle the scourge of rampant plastic pollution that plagues our neighborhoods, our local parks and green spaces, and our rivers, streams, and oceans.

“Nothing we use for a few minutes, such as single-use plastic bags, should be allowed to litter our communities, pollute our environment, and fill our landfills and incinerators for hundreds of years to come.

“Legislation banning single-use plastics is a proven tool we can use to protect our environment.  And with this vote, one in every five Pennsylvanians now lives in a community with a plastic bag ban. We know these policies work. By dramatically reducing the distribution of single-use plastics, we dramatically reduce their pollution.

“Every resident has had the experience of watching plastic bags blowing down our streets and through our neighborhoods, seeing plastic bags stuck in curbside trees and bushes, or in our parks and other outdoor places we love. 

While it’s disappointing that Abington did not pass the strongest version of the ordinance as recommended by their EAC and others, it’s exciting that these laws are spreading across Pennsylvania. With the passage of a plastics ordinance in the township, it shows the incredible leadership coming from local officials in the fight against plastic waste and pollution.”

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PennEnvironment is a statewide citizen-based non-profit environmental advocacy organization working to promote clean air, clean water, and protect our open spaces. 

To see where in Pennsylvania local plastic bag laws have passed, check out our map

To learn more about our work to tackle the threat of single-use plastics, visit our toolkit