MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Everett passes its own ban on single-use plastic bags

Dec 6, 2018, 4:22 PM

plastic bags...

(KIRO 7)

(KIRO 7)

Everett will now join Seattle and Tacoma in banning single-use plastic bags, following a decision from Everett’s City Council.

RELATED: Bill proposes statewide ban on single-use plastic bags

The plastic bag ban in Everett passed a City Council vote unanimously Tuesday night, and will go into effect Sept. 30, 2019.

The new law will include grocery stores and restaurants. A five cent charge will be enacted for the use of recyclable paper bags.

The city cited concerns over single-use plastic bags contaminating compost streams, causing “significant problems for recycling processors,” a direct threat to local wildlife, and the high cost associated with disposing of them.

Meanwhile, a statewide plastic bag ban is currently on the table.

“We are seeing plastic litter along the highways and in our public spaces. We need to reduce bags so that they don’t end up contributing to the litter going into our creeks and lakes,” Kent Councilwoman Brenda Fincher said in a news release. “Numerous countries have banned plastic bags and so we are behind the curve.”

This has been a contentious issue in the region for years now. Some argue that getting rid of single-use plastic bags keeps them out of landfills, and ultimately helps fight wasteful pollution.

Others still see a plastic bag ban as having the opposite of the intended effect.

“At the end of the day, plastic does use less energy to make, and it does cause less impact on water pollution,” Todd Myers, director of the Washington Policy Center’s Center for the Environment, told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

RELATED: Plastic bag ban does more harm than good

Regardless of where you stand on plastic bags in Everett, you’re going to have to go elsewhere for them beginning in late-2019.

MyNorthwest News

Image: The awnings of a store advertise the sale of lottery tickets, including Mega Millions and Po...

Steve Coogan

Lottery jackpots update: Powerball prize jumps again after $1.1B Mega Millions win

A lottery jackpots update: The Powerball prize reached an estimated $935 million ahead of Saturday night's drawing.

9 hours ago

Photo: The Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center....

James Lynch

King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash

The King County Law and Justice Committee received a final report on Executive Dow Constantine's plan to close a youth detention center.

10 hours ago

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

12 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

12 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

13 hours ago

Image: A Tacoma teen was shot outside her Tacoma Hilltop area apartment over the weekend....

Heather Bosch

Estranged boyfriend suspected in Tacoma teen’s death turns himself in

We're learning more about the man who's accused of fatally shooting a teenager outside her Tacoma Hill Top area apartment over the weekend.

13 hours ago

Everett passes its own ban on single-use plastic bags