A bit of news yesterday had us thinking about the state of BPA bans around the country. Here's a roundup.

First in firsts

Suffolk County, New York lawmakers voted to ban BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups yesterday. The Long Island county's County Executive, Steve Levy, is currently on the hot seat regarding whether or not to sign it - no small matter, as it would be the nation's first official BPA ban. A public hearing is set for March 16, and Levy has until April 2 to sign it or let it die. He may at least wait to see if Charles Schumer makes good on a recent promise to get BPA legislation on the state agenda now that Obama's recovery plan has been signed into law.

Local stores are saying it won't be hard to comply with the new law, which imposes fines on stores found selling bottles and sippys known to contain BPA. CVS is "phasing out" BPA bottles and sippys, Target says it did so in January, the chemical is supposed to be out of bottles and sippys at Wal-Mart and Toys 'R' Us as well. But the Health Commissioner is less confident that the ban will be easily enforced, and Newsday.com raises the discussion to new heights by calling it "PBA" in its headline (they get it right in the story, so don't blame the reporter).


The folks in Suffolk County aren't afraid of firsts, though. They were the first in the nation to ban ephedra (2003), to ban polystyrene takeout containers and plastic shopping bags (1998), and to impose a plastic shopping bag tax (1981).

BPA bans around the nation

Below is a simple chart of where the action is in BPA bans in the U.S. Everyone in the dark has nothing moving going on that we know of. Yellow represents states where localized (city or county) bans have potential or where the state seems to be leaning towards getting legislation together. Red indicates that a statewide ban is currently on the table - Hawaii, California, Oregon, Connecticut, Washington, and Minnesota. Details below the graphic.

Note: This map has been updated here.

• State legislation: California, Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Hawaii are all considering bans. The most buzz at the moment is in Washington State, where a Senate bill is pending and a House version passed the appropriations committee and is awaiting a full House vote. The bill would impose a more limited ban than some but has some forward-thinking provisions (more on that below).


• Local legislation: The city of Chicago is currently considering a ban, and Suffolk County, NY has passed one that is now waiting for a final signature.


• Leanings: Charles Schumer in New York and Edward Markey in Massachusetts have both stated they'll have BPA legislation on the table soon. We're also watching New Jersey and Delaware, which, like Connecticutt, is the home to AGs who have publicly asked infant care companies to phase out BPA.

Most interesting bills

• The Minnesota bill includes a ban on BPA in infant formula containers, which would go into effect in 2013. A ban like this, even in one state, would likely give formula companies the market push towards alternatives that their collective conscience appears unable to supply.


• The Washington State House bill, in addition to banning BPA in infant products for kids ages 3 and under, also contains provisions for a study by the state department of ecology to identify safer alternatives to BPA by July of 2012. We're hoping this would result in nailing down the feasible alternatives to BPA in can linings and formula packaging.

This information is hard to collate and relying on news reports means sometimes our status reports can be quickly outdated. If you have any more information on any of these places or others, let us know in the comments!