Jul 12 - Bellingham, WA Passes Plastic Bag Ban
The City of Bellingham, Washington passed a plastic bag ban yesterday when its City Council voted 7-0 in favor of the ordinance. The ordinance bans single-use plastic bags and places a 5 cent minimum price requirement on paper bags, to be kept by the grocers. The City of Seattle, which passed an ordinance only to be overturned by voter referendum, is now considering another ordinance modeled after Bellingham’s ordinance.
The successful passage of this ordinance can be credited to its champion, Council Member Seth Fleet, as well as the research and outreach efforts of the grassroots group, Bag It Bellingham, who have been working on this issue since February. In addition to gaining community support after local meetings and events, the ordinance also won endorsement by businesses and retailers, including two local supermarket chains.
We congratulate the City of Bellingham for its environmental leadership on the issue of plastic pollution. For more on the ordinance, read articles from the Seattle Times or Bellingham Herald. A copy of the ordinance is available here. To see other local bag ordinances in California, please visit our website.