On January 1, 2020, Oregon HB 2509 — the single-use bag ban — goes into effect. This bill prohibits retail stores and restaurants from providing single-use plastic checkout bags to customers. Consumers who do not bring a reusable bag with them will pay a minimum five-cent fee to offset the cost businesses pay to purchase more sustainable bags.
The only checkout bags retail stores or restaurants may provide are reusable or recycled paper.
A reusable bag is defined as a bag with handles, designed and manufactured to be used multiple times. This can be a reusable plastic checkout bag at least four millimeters thick or a reusable fabric checkout bag made of cloth or other machine-washable fabric. If a recycled paper bag is provided, it must be made with at least 40% post-consumer recycled fiber. The single-use checkout bag ban does not apply to bags other than at checkout.
So why did the state adopt the bag ban? The goal of the new law is to reduce the amount of bags that are used once and thrown out. But it also addresses a two big issues for Oregon’s recycling programs: contamination and worker safety. When plastic bags end up in recycling bins, they can contaminate the recycling stream and endanger the safety of workers who must untangle them from recycling equipment. The video below illustrates this well:
If you have further questions about Oregon's new single-use bag ban, be sure to check out this helpful FAQ or visit the Oregon DEQ website for more information.
A version of this article originally appeared in the January/February 2020 edition of The Troutdale Champion.