Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Thursday signed into law Senate Bill 551, which will eliminate all bags made of plastic film at checkout at restaurants, grocery stores, and other retail establishments in Oregon starting January 1, 2027. The bill passed with bipartisan support out of the Oregon legislature last week.
“In recent years, Oregon leaders have recognized the negative impacts of plastic pollution, and this new law will help us build a cleaner, greener future here in our state,” said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of Environment Oregon. “We’ve known for a long time that plastic film checkout bags pollute our communities, threaten our health and environment, and can harm wildlife. It’s exciting to see our state taking steps to reduce this source of unnecessary waste and pollution.”
While a state ban on single-use plastic check-out bags went into effect on January 1, 2020, for grocery stores, restaurants, and retail establishments, the law still allowed for the distribution of thicker plastic film bags (at least four mils thick). Because many people only use these thicker bags once before throwing them away – contributing to the plastic pollution problem – Oregon lawmakers sought to update the law to eliminate all plastic film bags at checkout this year.
“Wasteful disposable plastics like thick plastic checkout bags aren’t just annoying for consumers, they add unnecessary costs to our Oregon businesses, and are contributing to an ever increasing pile of plastic trash that is harming the environment and public health,” said the bill’s chief sponsor, state Sen. Janeen Sollman (SD-15). “Senate Bill 551 is an important step in addressing this large source of plastic pollution, and I’m proud to see it signed into law.”
Currently, more than 500 cities and towns across 28 states have a plastic bag ordinance in effect. Twelve states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – have some form of statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. California also recently updated its bag law to eliminate thick plastic bags at checkout.
“People realize quickly it’s easy to live without plastic bags and get used to bringing a bag from home or skipping a bag when they can,” said Charlie Fisher, state director of OSPIRG. “Plastic bag bans mean less waste and less litter. For our children to inherit a less polluted earth, that’s exactly what we need.”
Of course, there’s a lot more work to do to reduce plastic pollution on the horizon. But victories like this one show us that there is a bipartisan way forward to building the cleaner, healthier future we all believe in. We’re going to keep working toward that future — and taking moments to celebrate wins like this one along the way.
