What to Know
- The Delaware Senate approved a bill Thursday that places a ban on plastic bags in some stores.
- The bill aims to cut down on the amount of plastic bags cluttering landfills, littering roadways and clogging stormwater systems.
- Restaurants are excluded from the bag ban
The Delaware Senate approved a bill Thursday that largely prohibits retailers in the state from providing single-use carryout plastic bags to customers.
House Bill 130 aims to cut down on the amount of plastic bags cluttering landfills, littering roadways and clogging stormwater systems.
The bill applies to stores with more than 7,000 square feet of sales space, and chain stores with three or more locations having at least 3,000 square feet of sales space.
Restaurants are excluded from the bag ban, which also allows exceptions for bags used to wrap meat, fish, flowers or plants, or that contain unwrapped food items. You could also still carry a goldfish home from a pet store, or your laundry from the dry cleaners, in plastic bags.
“Plastic bags are a significant source of litter in our state," Delaware Gov. John Carney wrote in a statement. "Many get stuck in trees or discarded on the side of the road. We know that very few plastic bags are recycled and many end up as litter in our communities. I look forward to signing this legislation, which will help clean up our state and give us another tool to protect our environment."
