Washington state’s bag-ban starts tomorrow

Sep 30, 2021
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Written by wpengine
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Washington’s single-use plastic bag ban goes into effect tomorrow, October 1. Here’s what you need to know:

If a retailer supplies a bag, they must charge an 8¢ per bag pass-through fee, which the retailer keeps. Stipulations prohibit reimbursing customers for the fee and exceptions for charging the fee. The kinds of bags retailers can supply for the 8¢ fee:

  • Large paper carryout bags made with 40% recycled content.
  • Thick reusable plastic carryout bags made with 20% recycled content and a minimum of 2.25 mil thick film.

The kinds of bags retailers can supply free of charge:

  • Small paper bags
  • Small plastic bags designed for produce, meat, bulk foods, bakery goods, etc.
  • Plastic bags designed for flowers, newspapers, dry cleaning, etc.

Read more about limitations on carryout bags. Download the bag ban toolkit.