Ban on single-use plastic bags is Oct. 1

OLYMPIA — Washington’s ban on single-use plastic bags goes into effect on Oct. 1.

“The law forbids food-service businesses, restaurants, retail, small and temporary vendors, and grocery stores from providing single-use plastic carryout bags to customers,” stated a Department of Ecology (DOE) spokesperson.

Customers are to bring reusable bags. But people may purchase a compliant paper or reusable bag from the business. The law requires businesses to charge at least 8 cents per bag to pay for the bags and as an incentive for customers to bring their own.

“The 8-cent-charge is not a tax. It is a sale kept entirely by the merchant” states the DOE.

Food banks are not required to charge their customers for compliant bags.

Individuals receiving food stamps, WIC (Women, Infants, Children), SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), or other government food assistance programs are not subject to the charge.

Some types of single-use plastic bags are exempt from the law, including film plastics used to wrap meats and produce, small film bags for prescriptions, newspapers, dry-cleaning bags, and packaged bags sold in stores like trash bags, pet waste bags, and sandwich bags.

“The businesses this law affects are required to allow customers to use their own bags,” said Laurie Davies, DOE’s Solid Waste Management Program manager. “If a merchant doesn’t want its employees handling customers’ reusable bags, it can implement a policy requiring them to bag their own purchases when customers bring their own.”