Apr 30 - Chicago Passes Plastic Bag Ban

Today the City of Chicago, third largest city in the nation and largest in the state of Illinois, approved a plastic bag ban.

The ordinance will go into effect for large stores in August 2015, and expand to smaller chain stores by August 2016. Restaurants and independently owned stores are exempt.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Mayor Rahm Emanuel supports the ordinance to improve the City's environment, calling it "the right step to do".

Single-use plastic bags are easily airborne into the environment as litter and difficult to recycle because of contamination and machinery issues. Learn more about plastic bag impacts.

In June 2013, the City of Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to ban plastic bags. New York City is also considering a bag ordinance.

A bill proposed in California could become the first statewide law to take on plastic bag pollution. Learn more about SB 270.