Plastic Shopping Bag Information for Local Governments and Recycling Programs

A growing number of towns, cities, states and countries around the world are seeking ways to reduce plastic bag litter and its environmental impacts. This page contains information for Wisconsin municipalities interested in exploring their options in this area. For more information on the environmental costs and benefits of plastic shopping bags, please see our Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Shopping Bags page.

• What Options Does Our Community Have for Reducing Plastic Bag Use or Litter?
• What Are Other Governments Doing?
• What Are Some Issues to Consider When Deciding on the Best Approach for My Community?
• Resources and Links

What Options Does Our Community Have for Reducing Plastic Bag Use or Litter?

Communities around the world are trying several approaches to reducing plastic bag use and the litter and other problems associated with that use.

• Mandatory recycling programs. Governments have required retailers to collect and recycle plastic bags from customers. Again, this could be required of certain, large retailers or across an entire jurisdiction.
• Voluntary recycling programs. Governments can encourage and/or provide incentives for retailers or retail associations to offer plastic bag recycling to customers.
• Mandatory bans. Some governments have banned disposable plastic shopping bags, either at certain retail outlets (such as supermarkets and chain pharmacies) or throughout their jurisdictions.
• Mandatory bag taxes. Governments have imposed taxes on disposal plastic bags--for example, requiring retailers to collect a 15-cent surcharge per bag from customers that is then put into an environmental fund.
• Mandatory offering of reusable bags. Often in combination with other approaches, governments have required retailers to offer customers a reusable bag option (though the retailers can charge for the bags).
• Offer plastic bag recycling as part of municipal recycling programs. A growing number of municipalities are adding plastic shopping bags to the list of items that can be collected by curbside or drop-off recycling programs. Make it clear that this recycling does not include plant-based "compostable" bags.
• Retailer bag fees or credits. Governments can encourage or provide incentives to retailers to independently either charge for disposable plastic bags or give customers a small credit for bringing their own reusable bags.
• Outreach. Governments can inform residents about plastic bag recycling programs and encourage them to participate.

What Are Other Governments Doing?

Cities, states and countries around the world have been using all of the above approaches to tackle the plastic bag problem. Some examples are below. (Please note that this is not a comprehensive list and is subject to change.)

• Thirty towns in Alaska have banned plastic bag use.
• Several developing countries in Asia and Africa have banned certain types of plastic bags because of the problems bag litter causes with flooding and sewer systems.
• California now requires large supermarkets and pharmacies to collect consumers' plastic bags for recycling and offer reusable bags.
• Several towns in Canada have banned (or are considering bans on) plastic shopping bags.
• China has banned retailers from handing out free plastic bags as of summer 2008. It has also banned the production, sale and use of plastic bags less than 0.025 millimeters thick.
• Connecticut requires retailers that offer plastic bags to offer paper bags as well.
• Some retailers in Denmark, Italy, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden charge for plastic shopping bags.
• Hong Kong has introduced a levy on plastic shopping bags.
• Several states in India have banned plastic bags.
• Ireland imposed a 15-cent bag tax in 2002 that cut plastic bag use by 90 percent. The tax was raised to 22 cents per bag in 2007.
• Los Angeles County has asked stores to reduce plastic bag use by 2013.
• Minneapolis and St. Paul have a voluntary plastic bag recycling program called "It's in the Bag".
• New York City requires retailers that hand out plastic bags to accept them for recycling.
• A ban in Paris took effect in 2007, with a nationwide ban to take effect in France in 2010.
• Rhode Island requires large retailers (those with more than $8 million in annual sales) to offer receptacles for customers to recycle plastic shopping bags, expanding on the state's existing plastic bag recycling program.
• San Francisco and Oakland have banned large supermarkets and pharmacies from offering non-biodegradable plastic bags in the checkout line. The cities are encouraging the use of compostable plastic bags as one alternative, telling residents to use the bags to collect food scraps for the cities' organic material composting programs. Both cities have composting programs that can handle the bags.
• Several towns in the United Kingdom have banned plastic bags or are considering bans.

Several other jurisdictions are considering bans, taxes or other methods to reduce the use of disposable plastic shopping bags. Below are some of the places considering action as of spring 2008 (please note that this list is changing frequently).

• Austin, TX
• Annapolis, MD
• Australia
• Baltimore, MD
• Berkeley, CA
• Boston, MA
• Chicago, IL
• El Paso, TX
• Fairfax, CA
• Hawaii
• Isle of Wight, VA
• London
• Kingman, AZ
• Madison, WI
• Malibu, CA
• Maryland
• New Haven, CO
• New Jersey
• Philadelphia, PA
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Jose, CA
• Santa Monica, CA
• Spain
• Steamboat Springs, CO
• Wales
• Washington state
• West Virginia

The group Heal the Bay has a list of some of these efforts and links to some of the specific legislation and other documents for some jurisdictions [exit DNR].

What Are Some Issues to Consider When Deciding on the Best Approach for My Community?

What is the Primary Concern About Plastic Bags in Your Community?

Make sure you are clear on what problem(s) you are trying to solve before choosing a policy option. If plastic bag litter is a particular nuisance or hazard (such as blocking storm drains and causing flooding, or posing a hazard to animals), some options may not be as effective. For instance, encouraging a switch to compostable plastic bags will not solve a litter problem because the bags don't break down quickly unless they are in controlled composting conditions. If global warming is a primary concern, you may want to consider options that would encourage the use of reusable bags, since both paper and plastic disposable bags contribute greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes.

What Laws are Already in Place, Especially at the State Level?

In Wisconsin, state statutes prohibit local jurisdictions from imposing a tax on packaging. This means that a tax or other disposal restriction on disposable shopping bags, which are offered at the point of sale and not part of an item's packaging, can be permitted. View s. 287.10, Wis. Stats, [PDF 142KB, exit DNR] for more information.

No current state laws in Wisconsin currently address plastic bag recycling, labeling of plastic bags as recyclable or compostable bags as compostable, banning plastic bag use or imposing taxes on plastic bags--these activities are neither required nor prohibited.

What Infrastructure does Your Community Have in Place for Plastic Bag Recycling or Composting Biodegradable Bags?

Before requiring plastic bag recycling or encouraging the use of compostable plastic bags, make sure public or private waste haulers and solid waste processing facilities can handle the materials. Labeling requirements--that is, labeling plastic bags as recyclable and clearly marking bags that are compostable and cannot be recycled--are also important.

How Will You Know if Your Approach is Working?

Set up numerical goals and measurements for your program. Also consider what actions will be taken if the program's goals are not met.

Resources and Links

• For more information on recycling plastic shopping bags, visit our How Do I Handle My Waste? page.
• Plasticbagrecycling.org [exit DNR] has information for consumers, businesses, recycling managers and recyclers on what types of plastic film can be recycled and how to set up recycling programs.
• The Progressive Bag Alliance [exit DNR] is an industry group that has been active in the debate over plastic shopping bags.
• Heal the Bay has a list of some of these efforts and links to some of the specific legislation and other documents for some jurisdictions [exit DNR].