BETHEL — Businesses in town will be prohibited from selling or providing single-use plastic bags and foam containers for food and beverages, as of Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Voters passed the ban in June, 287-124. It falls under Chapter 62 of the town code.

Rite Aid, Family Dollar and Bethel Foodliner will switch to paper bags.

The ban is a commitment to eliminate those items to reduce the impact of plastics on the environment, reduce litter on roadsides and reduce taxpayer expense to manage solid waste. The bags and foam containers are not recyclable so they go into Bethel’s solid waste stream and are a significant cost to the town.

The proposal was brought to officials last year by Sarah Southam of Bethel and Madeline Williams of Mason Township.

Earlier this year, Gov. Janet Mills and the Legislature passed a statewide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, effective on Earth Day, April 22, 2020, according to the National Resources Council of Maine.

To view Chapter 62 of the town code go online to https://ecode360.com/34394791.