Ban on single-use plastics follows tumultuous path to Bozeman ballot

BOZEMAN — Following an initial rejection, a citizen initiative to ban single-use plastics will make the Bozeman ballot after city officials agreed to a court settlement this week. 

Last week, Gallatin County Election Administrator Eric Semerad determined the initiative did not meet the signature threshold required to make the ballot. But two days later, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the Bozeman city attorney and Semerad, challenging the threshold. The suit argued that organizers only needed 15% of signatures from active Bozeman voters, compared to city officials’ claim that they needed 25%. 

Semerad told Montana Free Press the settlement was based on timing — the final language for the city ballot is due Thursday by 5 p.m., and ballots must be mailed to voters by Sept. 20. 

If the city didn’t settle the case, and a judge ruled a month later the initiative should be on the ballot, ballots would need to be reprinted at significant expense to taxpayers, Semerad said.

The legal questions of the case remain undecided, Semerad said. The disagreement stems from whether this year’s election counts as a general or special election. In non-general election years, citizen-led initiatives need 25% of signatures to make the ballot, according to state law.

Organizers with Montana Plastics Free and Gallatin Valley Beyond Plastics collected 6,739 verified signatures for the initiative, or 23.6% of the electorate, just 389 signatures short of meeting the 25% threshold. 

Dan Carty, a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed earlier this month and one of the roughly 70 volunteers who helped collect signatures, said he appreciated the city agreeing to the settlement. 

“I think it is the right decision,” Carty said. “Citizen ballot initiatives are an exercise in direct democracy… I’m extremely thankful the initiative will now be on the ballot.” 

If passed, the ballot initiative would ban establishments from giving customers single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam containers for takeout, as well as the use of polystyrene packing materials. It would also ban distributing single-use plastic straws and stirrers unless specifically requested by the customer. 

The ban would take effect May 1, 2025. Violators would first receive a warning, then a $1,000 for the first violation and a $2,000 fine for the second and future violations. 

The city would also be responsible for designing educational materials for retail establishments announcing the ban’s effective date and reminding customers to bring reusable bags.

Certain plastics would still be allowed, including non-handled plastic bags to package loose items, bags to wrap fish or meat, bags to hold chemicals, bags for garbage and laundry, and plastic water bottles.

John Meyer, director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, said getting the initiative on the Bozeman ballot “has been a very long haul for a lot of people.”

To even begin collecting signatures, organizers represented by Meyer had to file an initial lawsuit challenging House Bill 407, which the Montana Legislature passed in 2023. The bill, which some have described as a “ban on bans,” effectively barred city governments or citizen ballot initiatives from regulating single-use plastics. 

A Lewis and Clark district court judge ruled in March that the law unconstitutionally restricted citizens’ ability to bring ballot measures, but the ban on city government bans is still unresolved. The state of Montana appealed the case to the Montana Supreme Court, but it’s unlikely the case will be decided before the November election, Meyer said.

Still, the outcome could affect how other Montana cities can regulate plastics. Organizers in Missoula were gathering signatures for their own plastics ban, but the effort fell short after a damaging windstorm in July. Meyer said it’s likely Missoulains will renew the push next year.

“It’s pretty important for Bozeman to get this passed because the Montana Legislature is no doubt watching very closely what’s happening,” Meyer said. If the initiative fails, that could embolden further legislation to restrict regulation, he said. 

Megan Wolff, the health policy director at Beyond Plastics and an environmental health consultant for Cottonwood, said regulating the “unnecessary single-use plastics” is key to addressing human health risks. 

Wolff said that includes things like plastic wrapping over boxes, grocery store bags, bubble wrap and packing peanuts — items that are immediately thrown away — not important plastics used by the medical and transportation industry.

Wolff said the plastics issue has pivoted from litter and environmental impacts to focus on health concerns, as scientists start to learn more about how microplastics affect the human body.

According to a 2023 study by the Minderoo Monaco Commission on Human Health, microplastics have been found in human organs, blood, tissue and brains. Microplastics leach chemicals and carcinogens that have been linked to cognitive problems and hormone disruptions. They have also been found in human fetuses and even the blood of house pets. 

While the long-term health effects are still unknown — single-use plastic production started to surge just two decades ago — scientists have some educated guesses that are “pretty dark and largely coming true,” Wolff said. 

In the U.S, some 14 states have successful bans on single-use plastic bags, Wolff said. 

Still, industry groups that supported the HB 407 “ban on bans,” like the Montana Restuarant Association, argued a patchwork of different regulations across cities would burden businesses.

The Bozeman Chamber of Commerce did not return a request for comment Thursday.

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.

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