Thurston County, WA Bag Ordinance

In September 2013 the Thurston County, WA Board of Supervisors passed a Reusable Bag Ordinance for the unincorporated areas of the county.  The ordinance bans plastic checkout bags at all retailers and includes a minimum five cent fee on paper bags as the incentive to remember reusable bags or go without a bag for small purchases.  The Board of Supervisors Staff presented a report on plastic bags in the area, Reducing Our Use: Plastic Shopping Bags, to the SWAC in September 2012. The group approved the report and recommended that the city councils of Thurston County and the Thurston County Commissioners adopt a plastic bag ban.  The overall goal is to have cities in the area to pass the same ordinance for consistency throughout the county.  Surfrider activists in Washington sent in letters and spoke in support at public hearings.