Youngkin rolls back Northam’s limits on single-use plastics

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ended what his office calls a “burdensome” restriction on single-use plastics at state agencies, colleges and universities.

The Republican governor signed an executive order Thursday rolling back a 2021 order from Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam that instituted the plastics prohibition. It banned most disposable plastic bags, food service containers, water bottles, and straws and cutlery at executive branch agencies.

Youngkin’s order aims instead to encourage recycling. It also directs two state agencies to work with “large-scale suppliers of food” to identify ways to reduce food waste. And it asks a task force to examine ways to encourage new “recycling-related” businesses to locate in Virginia.

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