The Atlanta City Council is pausing its consideration of a proposed ban of plastic bags, plastic straws and Styrofoam at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and city facilities.
While the measure was due to be discussed at council committee meetings Wednesday, instead a council committee voted Tuesday to put consideration of the proposed ordinance on hold.
“We are all in agreement that a little more work and due diligence is necessary before the legislation moves forward,” said Michael Smith, a spokesman for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in a written statement.
City council member Amir Farokhi, who proposed the legislation, said putting it on hold would allow time for "working through some questions and issues," and to make sure it's aligned with the airport's sustainability initiatives. He declined to detail the specific questions and issues.
Farokhi has said there are plans for a carve-out to address concerns for people with disabilities who need plastic straws that bend.
Christopher Langdon, who spoke at a council committee meeting Wednesday as part of the plastics industry, is against a ban and said the plastics industry “employs thousands and thousands of people domestically.”
The U.S. plastic bag industry has a campaign to prohibit bans on plastic bags.
“Our industry personally believes we have a bigger problem with people not recycling, not cleaning up their trash,” Langdon said, and added that alternatives to single-use plastics are more expensive.
In 2015, the Georgia Senate voted to bar cities and counties from banning plastic bags, but the Georgia House rejected the measure.
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