Feb 19 - Lacey, WA Adopts Ordinance to Ban Plastic Bags

On February 13, 2014 the city of Lacey, Washington became the last major jurisdiction in Thurston County to adopt an ordinance banning single-use plastic grocery bags.

The ordinance will be effective this July. It applies to bags at checkout but does not ban protective bags used to separate meat or produce from other groceries. Following the implementation of the ordinance on July 1, 2014, the city will also conduct a six month study to see how the ordinance is going and show the results to undecided communities.

The city has been looking at this issue since 2012. Lacey now joins Tumwater, Olympia, and unincorporated Thurston County as jurisdictions that support a plastic bag ban. The success of the bans will determine whether Yelm, Tenino, Rainier and Bucoda pass their own bans. Hopefully by the end of this year these cities will decide to pass a bag ban of their own.

See a list of all the local bans in the US.

The State of California is looking for a statewide solution to the problem of plastic grocery bag pollution. Learn more about SB 270.