Find Out What U.S. Cities Have New Plastic Bag Bans
Here’s Your Latest Update on U.S. Plastic Bag Bans
As we get underway with the New Year, there is a lot to look forward to regarding the plastic bag ban movement. We do our best to track the bag ban movement on our plastic bag ban map. This resource follows plastic bag bans and plastic bag fees from proposal through implementation, and we even track the unsuccessful efforts. This past year was very eventful and many cities and counties passed single-use plastic bag bans and 2019 is shaping up to be just as successful. Let’s take a moment to look back in on 2018 and the current state of the bag ban movement!
Starting the New Year Right
January 1, 2019, was a milestone for many municipalities, as it marked the first day of brand new single-use plastic bag bans for many cities. In Alaska, Unalaska made their ban official on January 1. Moab, Utah; Piermont, New York; Beverly and Hopkinton in Massachusetts, Rockland, Maine, as well as both North Kingstown and South Kingstown in Rhode Island all officially implemented disposable plastic bags bans on the first of this year.
Movement Spreading in Empire State
Warren County is maintaining their holding pattern and has yet to pass their disposable plastic bag ban. Officials decided to hold off on their initial proposal several years ago in hopes that a state-wide ban was on the way. When that failed to happen a renewed effort to implement a bag ban began. The most recent proposal is once again being revised to address concerns from the community.
Dutchess County, New York initially approved a proposal to ban single-use plastic bags. If approved by the County Executive, the ban could go into action as early as January 1, 2020. Orange County in New York is also looking into the possibility of banning disposable plastic bags.
Coastal States Making Huge Strides
Disposable plastic bags are banned at the Brigantine, New Jersey Farmer’s Market back in 2015. This set things into motion and starting June 1, 2019, single-use plastic bags will be banned throughout the entire town of Brigantine. Beach Haven, New Jersey also has a ban that will go into action in June 2019. While a bag ban in Bradley Beach became effective on January 1, 2019.
Starting July 1, 2019, disposable plastic bags will be banned in Bend while the city council in Lake Oswego also approved an ordinance banning disposable plastic bags.
Florida has a law that prevents local governments from passing single-use plastic bag bans, but that hasn’t stopped a number of cities from trying to ban bags. St. Petersburg has considered banning single-use plastic bags and is now looking into imposing a 5-cent fee on both disposable paper and plastic bags.
Bans On Hold
Anchorage was ready to move forward with a single-use plastic bag ban that was set to go into action on March 1, 2019. Due to concern in the community, things were put on hold. The ban is still on with the new start date set for September 15, 2019.
Efforts to ban single-use plastic bags in Jackson, Wyoming are still underway. The proposal has been drafted several times to address concerns from community members and local businesses in order to make sure they get it right.
Possible Changes in Lone Star State
At one point Texas was a hotbed for bag bans. After the Texas Supreme Court overturned a single-use plastic bag ban in Laredo other cities with bans followed Laredo’s lead. A new bill proposed in Texas looks to restore the right to ban single-use plastic bags to cities and counties throughout the state.
Promising Year Ahead
With so much going on in the bag ban movement it can be hard to keep track. That’s where our map can be used to help you get a handle on the latest happenings. Do you know about any bans not currently represented on our map? Let us know!
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