PDCA Wins Philly Drycleaner’s Plastic Bag Ban Fight

The proposal to ban all plastic bags in Philadelphia has been amended to exempt bags used by drycleaners.

At a public meeting last month, executive director Carol Memberg, explained that such a ban would be almost impossible for drycleaners to comply with, and that their bags did not present a littering a problem. Todd McKenna from FM Supply and Nick Kashkashian from Frankford Machinery also gave important support for exempting drycleaners, saying that the bags were necessary to keep newly processed orders lint-free and together.

The legislation will now go to the full City Council for a vote.

From Tuesday’s (10/22) Philadelphia Inquirer: “Philadelphia City Council took a step toward banning single-use plastic bags Tuesday, as a Council committee voted in favor of a bill that would prohibit retailers from providing them to customers.

“The vote came after Councilman Mark Squilla, the bill’s sponsor, opted to compromise and remove a proposed fee for customers who use paper bags. The legislation will now go to the full Council. “The regulations would apply to retail establishments, including supermarkets, convenience stores, clothing and department stores, dollar stores, restaurants, food trucks, farmers’ markets, and delivery services. The legislation would also ban plastic bags used to hold newspapers and circulars. An amendment made Tuesday would exempt dry cleaners from the plastic bag ban.”

Webinar Explains How to Use Old Insurance to Pay for Environmental Cleanup

On September 25th, EnviroForensics, in partnership with PDCA, discussed how dry cleaners can use old insurance policies to pay for environmental cleanups.

The webinar provided a clear understanding of the multi-disciplined approach necessary to address environmental contamination, clear next steps, and an opportunity to ask questions. The entire webinar was a proverbial roadmap to addressing environmental issues while minimizing out-of-pocket expenses.

Today, almost every commercial business and property acquisition will require real estate and environmental due diligence assessments to determine if environmental contamination is present. Whether you’re refinancing your property, looking to sell your dry cleaning business or property, preparing to pass down your business to your children, or your neighbors are selling or refinancing their businesses, a due diligence assessment will likely be required for all sales and property transactions. If contamination is discovered, it can affect the value of your business or property.

An environmental investigation and cleanup can be confusing at best, or downright terrifying at worst. Whether you start out in complete control and can systemically walk through evaluating and managing your liability, are quickly forced into dealing with an environmental investigation and cleanup, or are just thinking into the future to prepare yourself; dry cleaners can minimize their liabilities and financial spending, resolve their environmental impact, and effectually add to the value of their business or property.

You can learn more about EnviroForensics tailored services for dry cleaners by going to their site at https://www.enviroforensics.com.

Pennsylvania Legislative Alert

Pennsylvania legislators are now considering an increase in the state’s minimum wage. Governor Wolf is proposing $12 an hour, with annual 50 cent increases to bring it to $15 by 2025. Any increase in the minimum wage will produce a ripple effect. Can you afford this? Many small businesses would find it crippling. We urge you to contact your legislator to ask that the measure be defeated. A sample letter is available from the PDCA office. If you have any questions, email us at leslie@pdclean.org or call 800-822-7352.