This Washington
Fitzgibbon To Try Again for Statewide Plastic Bag Ban
State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-34) has introduced legislation that would ban single-use retail plastic bags statewide. Similar to proposals that have passed in Seattle, Mukilteo, Bellingham, and Edmonds, the legislation would make Washington State the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags outright. The ban would not apply to the smaller plastic bags used to carry bulk foods, dairy, produce, and meat.
The proposal would also require that stores use only recycled paper bags, defined as bags produced by a manufacturer that uses at least 40 percent recycled materials, and would bar cities from charging a tax or fee to use paper bags. The language would allow the sort of "pass-through charge" that will apply in Seattle---a five-cent fee on paper bags, payable to retailers to make up for the cost of the plastic ban.
Last year, the bag-ban legislation---sponsored by Fitzgibbon and Rep. Marko Liias (D-21)---never got a hearing. This year, Fitzgibbon says it will be heard in Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-33)'s environment committee, but adds that "I do think it's a long shot that we're going to pass the bill this year."
"As more cities choose to take action on their own, there's more inteserst across the state in dealing with this in a statewide way," Fitzgibbon says.
In California, the legislature rejected a proposal that would have made that state the first in the nation to ban plastic bags. Meanwhile, closer to home, a grassroots effort to kill Seattle's plastic-bag ban, which council members approved last year, have fizzled without the all-important support of the grocery and plastics industries.
The proposal would also require that stores use only recycled paper bags, defined as bags produced by a manufacturer that uses at least 40 percent recycled materials, and would bar cities from charging a tax or fee to use paper bags. The language would allow the sort of "pass-through charge" that will apply in Seattle---a five-cent fee on paper bags, payable to retailers to make up for the cost of the plastic ban.
Last year, the bag-ban legislation---sponsored by Fitzgibbon and Rep. Marko Liias (D-21)---never got a hearing. This year, Fitzgibbon says it will be heard in Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-33)'s environment committee, but adds that "I do think it's a long shot that we're going to pass the bill this year."
"As more cities choose to take action on their own, there's more inteserst across the state in dealing with this in a statewide way," Fitzgibbon says.
In California, the legislature rejected a proposal that would have made that state the first in the nation to ban plastic bags. Meanwhile, closer to home, a grassroots effort to kill Seattle's plastic-bag ban, which council members approved last year, have fizzled without the all-important support of the grocery and plastics industries.
