Gilbert Smith, Staff Writer
Since Oct.1, 2021, the state of Washington began a plastic bag ban in effect for some stores, primarily grocery and department stores. They are called retail establishments in a special notice from the Department of Revenue, or D.O.R., for Washington State. It was originally supposed to take place earlier, but the pandemic forced it to be halted temporarily by Gov. Jay Inslee’s Emergency Proclamation 2082. A reason for this ban was the numerous complaints about bag shortages. The emergency proclamation expired Sept. 30th. The current ban has been put into action by the Department of Ecology, or D.O.E., for Washington State. It was passed by the State Legislature.
It only bans the use of single-use plastic bags in Washington State. This is applying to new bags being produced and not the ones that are already in the stores. There are six types of allowed bags according to the Wash. D.O.E website. Some kinds of bags will have charges attached to them but only two have mandatory charges. One of the charges, according to the special notice from the D.O.R. will start in 2026 for reusable plastic bags to increase from 8 cents to 12 cents. The paper bags will not change in price. There is even a form that can be filled out if you wish to report a store that is not in compliance with the bag ban. Compostable bags are still allowed but not recommended to use due to the fact that not all places can process them because of lack of equipment.
This ban doesn’t apply to various forms of public assistance that those with lower incomes have access to, such as food stamps. There are expectations for food banks and food assistance programs as well. This means you may find them still in use at some stores and that some will still have them as an option. According to the D.O.E., “Some single-use plastic bags are exempt from the law, including plastics to wrap meats and produce, bags for prescriptions, and newspaper or dry-cleaning bags.”
This means that now when going to most stores if you aren’t exempt from this law, you will need to pay less than ten cents per bag you request from them. However, reusable bags are still allowed in free of charge as well. There are two types of bags, green or brown banded plastic produce bags and single-use plastic bags, which are not recyclable. The ones that are still an option have been determined to be more recyclable.
A post by the D.O.E in July explains, “Plastic bags are a common form of pollution that threatens human health, wildlife, and the environment. Harmful chemicals are released when plastics are produced, used, incinerated, or slowly disintegrate into microscopic particles. Plastic bags are also a major contaminant in Washington’s recycling system that clog sorting machines and put worker safety at risk.”
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