Plastic bag restrictions advance in Wash. Legislature

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – A ban on single-use plastic bags advanced in the Washington Legislature, the second of a pair of bills on the subject to move past initial hearings.

The bill would ban retail stores from giving out non-compostable single-use plastic bags starting in 2020, and would set requirements for other types of bags including paper and compostable plastic, and require stores to collect a 10-cent charge for each recycled or reusable bag handed out.

The bill is one of a pair of linked measures advancing in the Legislature, both of which have now progressed further than similar proposals in previous years.

The Senate version advanced out of the Environment, Energy and Technology committee in late January. The House version advanced late Tuesday on a vote by Environment and Energy committee.