WA Lawmakers Want Statewide Plastic Bag Ban

OLYMPIA, WA - A group of Washington lawmakers want to pass a statewide ban on plastic bags in the upcoming legislative session. The ban would include a provision allowing stores to charge up to 10 cents for paper bags.

Banning plastic bags is nothing new in Washington. There are 19 cities, including Seattle and Edmonds, that already have bans, so do states like California and Hawaii. California retailers can sell reusable plastic bags, however.

State Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, is one of the leaders of the bag-ban proposal. Ranker is a major backer of environmental causes, including saving Puget Sound's orca population, and he was just picked to chair the new Environment and Tourism Committee.

And while plastic bags are awful for the environment and pretty annoying - we all have a drawer or cabinet stuffed with old plastic bags - would you be willing to pay for either reusable bags or the paper bag replacements?

Let us know!

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