Oregon's new ban on single-use shopping bags went into effect on January 1 of this year. HB 2509, also known as the Sustainable Shopping Initiative, was signed into law on June 20, 2019 by the governor. The new law prohibits retail establishments from providing single-use checkout bags to their customers except in specific circumstances.
The ban applies to retail establishments and restaurants.
Retail establishments are defined by the bill as "a store that sells or offers for sale goods at retail and that is not a restaurant."
Retail establishments are generally prohibited from providing single-use bags to customers. A single-use bag is defined as any bag that is not a reusable bag or a recycled paper bag. Additionally, stores must charge not less than five cents for any bag they do provide to customers.
Some single-use bags are exempted from the ban or fees:
Restaurants are subject to the same rules as retail establishments except that they may provide recycled paper bags at no cost and reusable plastic bags at no cost to EBT users.
More Resources
You can read the text of the law on the legislature's OLIS website here: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/Overview/HB2509
** Remember! The enrolled bill is the final version of the bill sent to the governor to be signed.
The Department of Environmental Quality has posted more detailed information about the single-use bag law, including a helpful FAQ (PDF).
0 Comments.