Philadelphia announces plastic bag ban to begin July 1

article

PHILADELPHIA - The City of Philadelphia announced the ban on single-use plastic bags will begin July 1.

The ban, which was originally passed by City Council in December 2019, follows a period of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the ban begins July 1, the city will implement a 9-month awareness, education, and warning period. After April 1, 2022, the city will begin to fully enforce the ban.

As such, businesses are encouraged to begin phasing out their plastic bag supply and post signage notifying customers of the change as soon as possible.

The single-use plastic bag ban was passed as a major advancement toward cleaning up Philadelphia’s streets and waterways, and reducing plastic waste.

"Even in the wake of recovery from a global pandemic, the climate crisis and plastic pollution remain two very serious threats to our planet and society," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "Philadelphia is committed to continuing to advance our environmental goals, and while the ban on single-use plastic bags will go into effect later than we originally anticipated, we believe this timeline will help increase compliance. By building out an extended education and warning period, the City will be better able to ensure widespread awareness of the law to our diverse business owners and to residents and consumers."

To assist businesses through this transition, the City will provide various resources during the 9-month education and warning period.