State single-use plastic bag ban to replace Bend ban Jan. 1

Bend council voted to repeal local ban to avoid confusion with state move

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The statewide ban on single-use plastic bans officially goes into effect Jan. 1, following the Bend City Council's decision to repeal a local plastic bag ban in July.

The state law, House Bill 2509, signed by Gov. Kate Brown on June 20, restricts all retail stores from providing single-use plastic bags. Instead, retailers will provide recycled paper bags, reusable heavy plastic bags or reusable fabric bags.

NewsChannel 21 asked the public Wednesday whether they agree or disagree with the ban.

"I like the plastic bags because I reuse them in my wastebaskets in the bathroom," Debbie Derheimer of Bend said.

Mary Puskas, another local shopper, disagrees.

"I do think they should be banned," Puskas said. "I recently took a trip to Morrocco. I went by the Mediterranean Sea, and the beach was full of plastic, which the birds were eating. To imagine that that far away, in a very remote place, it's frightening. It really is destroying our oceans."

However, the environmentally friendly change comes at a cost for customers. People will be required to pay a fee of 5 cents per paper bag.

Restaurant bags for takeout, as well as plastic bags used for produce, bulk foods and meat, are exempt from the ban. People with WIC or SNAP benefits are not required to pay the 5-cent fee per paper bag.

Oregon joins California, New York and Hawaii in banning single-use plastic bags.

The single-use plastic bag ban is one of three eco-friendly bills state legislators hoped to pass. The bill requiring people to ask for plastic straws at restaurants, instead of automatically getting handed one, passed in June.

The proposed ban on the use of Styrofoam containers in restaurants did not pass.

The city says the decision to repeal the city ban was so people would not be confused between the local law, which went into effect July 1 and was repealed two weeks later, and the state law.

To learn more about the city's decision to repeal the local ban and the differences between the state and local bans, visit the City of Bend's blog post at https://www.bendoregon.gov/Home/Components/Blog/Blog/21015/.