In an effort to combat the often devastating effect of unnecessary litter and protect clean waterways and wildlife, several localities around the state of Washington have turned to plastic bag bans and fees on single use paper bags to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. The majority of Washington localities with single use bag laws and regulations are located around the Puget Sound area, most notably Seattle and Bellingham. The city of Edmonds, WA was the first in the state to impose a ban on plastic bags. Following the example set by Edmonds, the city of Bellingham enacted a similar plastic bag ban with some key distinctions. Chief among these being the inclusion of a $0.05 Fee on single use paper bags charged to the purchaser at the point of sale. The 2011 “Single Use Carry Out Bag
Ordinance” No. 2011-07-034 enacted by the city of Bellingham, WA is important due to the fact that it has been used as the model for most of the new local plastic bag laws and regulations in the state of Washington. The key elements of the Bellingham law and those that follow the Bellingham model include:
- Customers must be charged $0.05 per large paper bag.
- Single-use plastic carry out bags are prohibited.
- Paper bags must be made of at least 40% recycled materials
As of June 12, 2014 the following local jurisdictions in Washington have enacted plastic bag bans which include a $0.05 fee: Bainbridge Island, Bellingham, Issaquah, Lacey, Mukilteo, Olympia, Port Townsend, Seattle, Shoreline, Tumwater and, the County of Thurston (unincorporated areas only). Looking towards the future, it is reasonable to expect similar fees to be enacted in more cities around the state of Washington.
