The state’s ban on plastic bags will take effect on Oct. 1, nine months after originally scheduled, after two delays imposed because of the COVID emergency.
The ban, passed by the state Legislature in March 2020, prohibits the use of most single-use plastic bags. It allows reusable bags that can carry at least 22 pounds for a distance of 175 feet and withstand at least 125 uses. They’ll have to contain a minimum amount of postconsumer recycled material.
Stores must charge a fee for the heavier-duty, reusable bags. Each bag will cost 8 cents through the end of 2025. The charge goes up to 12 cents the next year.
The 8-cent-charge is not a tax — it’s a sale kept by the merchant to provide an incentive for customers to bring their own bags. It also helps stores recoup the costs of the more durable bags, according to the state Department of Ecology. Retail establishments have a year to use up their existing inventory of bags.
The law provides some exceptions. Bags for bulk items such as fruit and vegetables, nuts and grains, candy, and small hardware items will be permitted. Plastic bags can also be used for unwrapped prepared foods, bakery items, and meat and fish. Bags for newspapers, laundry, and pet waste, as well as retail packages of food-storage and garbage bags, are allowed. Bags for prescription drugs are exempted.
Food banks and individuals receiving food stamps and other government assistance are not subject to the 8-cent charge.
Plastic bags accumulate in waterways, oceans and in litter and threaten human health, wildlife and the environment, according to Ecology. Harmful chemicals are released when plastics are produced, used or incinerated, and as they disintegrate into microscopic particles. They clog recycling systems, putting worker safety at risk.
Gov. Jay Inslee delayed the ban in an emergency order in January because manufacturers of reusable plastic bags had repurposed their factories to make personal protective equipment. The pandemic also boosted consumer demand for take-out food and groceries, which increased the use of paper and plastic bags at a time when alternatives to single-use plastic bags were scarce, Inslee said.
Enforcement of the ban will be handled by Ecology and will be based on complaints. Violators will be subject to a $250 fine. Ecology will also conduct education and outreach.
