Senate passes bill banning single-use plastic bags, headed to House

If it moves forward, a bill passed by the state Senate on Wednesday would mean retailers could no longer provide single-use plastic bags.

Senator Mona Das of Kent says her bill is supported by retailers and environmentalists.

“We’ve reached crisis-level proportions of plastic pollution,” Das said in a statement. “Everyone has seen the horrifying photos and videos of animals choked by plastics, tangled in garbage, or whose bellies are full of waste. It’s not good for animals, for natural habitats, for our planet. It’s not good for us. We bear a responsibility to make this right.”

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The bill allows for stores to provide paper bags or approved reusable bags for 8 cents a piece, meant to help retailers cover the costs of switching and to create an incentive for shoppers to bring their own.

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The bag bill is now heading to the House of Representatives.

“Protecting our environment is one of the most important jobs we have as state legislators,” Das said, “especially since the gravity of the climate crisis is taken less seriously by some at the national level. We only get one planet. We need to care for it.”