Washington puts wildlife over waste with new bag bill

At the Seattle Aquarium, legislators, environmentalists and a scuba diver gathered in front of the Washington Waters exhibit to take on plastic pollution.

At the Seattle Aquarium, legislators, environmentalists and a scuba diver gathered in front of the Washington Waters exhibit to take on plastic pollution.

On Nov. 28, State Rep. Strom Peterson announced his plans to introduce a reusable bag bill to address the role of plastic bags in Washington’s plastic pollution and recycling contamination problems. This legislation, supported by Environment Washington, will build on 23 preexisting local ordinances and take statewide a ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and retail stores.

“Moving beyond single-use plastics is something we can do right now, and we look forward to working with legislators to make sure that happens,” said Environment Washington State Director Bruce Speight. “The passage of the reusable bag bill would be a big step forward in reducing the plastic pollution that threatens wildlife and our environment.”

The reusable bag bill is one of our four environmental priorities for the 2019 legislative session.

Photo: The new plastic bag bill campaign was announced from where plastic bags can cause the most damage, underwater. Credit: Seattle Aquarium.