OLR Report 2013-R-0332 summarizes of how state and local governments discourage the use of plastic carryout bags.
Governments, mostly county and municipal, discourage the use of plastic carryout bags through bans, fees, mandatory recycling requirements, and education programs. Many that do are located in coastal states, and the provisions of their implementing ordinances vary considerably.
The ordinances generally apply to certain types of bags or businesses. Some provide for specific alternatives and others impose criminal or civil penalties for noncompliance. Some ordinances also aim to reduce or eliminate the use of paper carryout bags. Many exempt plastic bags used for certain purposes, such as those used to carry fruit, vegetables, nuts, candies, or other loose items (i.e., produce or product bags). They often explicitly allow the use of reusable bags, which are generally handled-bags designed for multiple reuse and made out of cloth or some other durable or machine washable fabric. Plastic reusable bags must often be at least 2.25 mils (.00225 inches) thick. If an ordinance allows for the use of recyclable paper bags, the bags must often be 100% recyclable, made of at least 40% post-consumer recycled content, and labeled as “reusable” or “recyclable.”
No state has banned the use of plastic carryout bags on a statewide basis, but many counties and municipalities have imposed local bans. North Carolina's legislature adopted a ban that applies only to its Outer Banks region. By July 2015, all four of Hawaii's counties will ban these bags, with varying exemptions, thus creating a de facto statewide ban. Barrington, Rhode Island's ban sunsets in 2015 unless the Town Council renews it. Westport is the only Connecticut municipality that bans plastic bags for retail checkout of purchased goods. Brookline, Massachusetts bans non-compostable and non-marine degradable plastic bags, but provides temporary waivers for food service establishments that can show an economic hardship or that they have no alternative to the checkout bags.
Like plastic bag bans, no states impose a fee or tax on plastic carryout bags, but several local jurisdictions do. For example, Montgomery County, Maryland and Washington, D.C. impose a five-cent per bag charge, while Boulder, Colorado imposes a 10-cent fee. The fees also apply to paper bags. Most of the revenue generated by these fees is used for environmental projects.
Some municipalities, particularly in California, couple plastic bag bans with fees on paper bags. Sunnyvale, California, for example, bans plastic carryout bags and imposes a 10-cent per bag fee, increasing to 25-cents in 2014, on recyclable paper carryout bags. It staggered the date by which stores were required to comply with its requirements, giving smaller stores more time to do so.
Madison, Wisconsin bans the disposal of non-contaminated recyclable plastic bags, including most grocery and retail bags, which must be separated from other solid waste and recycled.
Although the above methods may include an informational or educational component, some localities rely primarily on education programs to reduce plastic bag use. For example, Tuscan, Arizona requires retailers to (1) train employees on how to reduce their use, (2) educate customers on the environmental benefits of recycling or reducing the use of these bags, and (3) implement a public education program. It also requires them to collect and recycle plastic bags and report data on plastic bag use. In 2011, Wilton, Connecticut conducted a six-month educational program to decrease disposable bag use that, among other things, distributed free reusable bags to consumers.
The methods described above represent a sample of those used across the nation. More information about these and other approaches is available at several websites, such as plasticbaglaws.org and banthebag.com, which track plastic bag laws.
For more information, read the full report.
