PROVIDENCE — Efforts to curb trash pollution are moving forward in Rhode Island, with bills taking aim at balloons, plastic bags and plastic straws winning key approvals in the House and Senate on Tuesday.
The Senate passed statewide bans on single-use plastic bags and plastic straws while the House approved legislation prohibiting the release of groups of balloons inflated with helium or other gases that are lighter than air. All three measures have companion bills that are awaiting committee votes.
Of the three pieces of legislation, the most high-profile is the plastic bag ban, which has been proposed in every session of the General Assembly since 2013. In the years since, bag bans have been enacted in eight states, including three in New England, while more than a dozen cities and towns in Rhode Island have enacted local ordinances that affect half the population of the state.
