search
Donate

News

Athens will not appeal a ruling against its plastic bag ban to the Ohio Supreme Court

By:
Posted on:

< < Back to

ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens will not appeal a recent court ruling that found its ban on plastic bags is unconstitutional.

Plastic single-use shopping bags at the checkout area in a Walmart store.
Plastic single-use shopping bags at the checkout area in a Walmart store. [JHVEPhoto | Shutterstock]
“This decision does not reflect a change in the City’s commitment to reducing single-use plastic bags or defending Home Rule,” Lisa Eliason, the city’s law director, wrote in an emailed statement. “Rather, the decision is based on the reality that due to the current political makeup of the Ohio Supreme Court, the City has very little chance of prevailing.”

The court’s members consist of six Republicans and one Democrat.

Three weeks ago a state appeals court upheld a decision last year by an Athens County judge who said the city’s bag ban conflicts with a state law that allows people to use the bag of their choice.

The Athens City Council passed the ban in May 2023 and it took effect in January 2024. It prohibited merchants from providing customers with single-use plastic bags. The state sued to stop the ban.

Much of the legal battle revolved around the issue of home rule, which gives local governments in Ohio the right to pass their own laws. However, these local rules cannot directly conflict with state laws that are intended to be the exclusive authority when it comes to certain issues.

The city argued its bag ban did not conflict with such a law. The state law giving people freedom of choice when it comes to bags was tucked into a broader set of laws that address solid waste management. These laws leave no room for cities to pass their own rules when it comes to solid waste management.

But the bag-choice law doesn’t belong with those other laws because it has nothing to do with solid waste management, the city argued. It’s about personal choice.

The appeals court disagreed. The court echoed the state’s argument that plastic bags will eventually become part of the solid waste stream. So their use, including the right to use them, is a solid waste issue, the court said.

“We are disappointed in the result, but proud the City championed this cause,” Eliason wrote in her statement.