Plastic Bag Ban Begins July 1 In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — After a year and a half passed since the Philadelphia City Council voted to ban plastic bags, the policy is set to go into effect July 1.

However, the prohibition of plastic bags will not begin until Oct. 1 and full enforcement won't begin until early 2022.

Though the ban will be implemented beginning July 1, there will be a nine-month awareness, education, and warning period before full enforcement begins to provide businesses with ample time to prepare and comply with the law.

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

They will be required to hang signage to inform customers of the ban by Aug. 1.

The city will only issue warnings to businesses from Oct. 1 to April 1, 2022. After April 1, 2022, the city will fully enforce the ban.

The ban will affect all commercial establishments of all sizes in Philadelphia that make bags available for carryout items (such as food, clothing, home goods, etc.) and/or for delivery. These businesses include establishments, indoor or outdoor, where food or other products are offered to the public for sale—including but not limited to: supermarkets, convenience stores, shops, service stations, department stores, clothing stores, restaurants, food trucks, farmers’ markets, and delivery services.

"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."

The legislation prohibits retail establishments from providing for checkout or delivery:

• All single-use plastic bags. This includes bags created through a “blown film extrusion” process or that are less than 2.25 mils thick. The blown film extrusion process is the primary way that all plastic bags that use plastic film are created, regardless of the thickness of the plastic. Therefore, this legislation bans all bags we commonly refer to as single use plastic bags, no matter their thickness.
• Bags made from PLA (polylactic acid) created through a blown film extrusion process.
• Any paper bag that does not contain at least 40 percent recycled content and does not meet the labeling criteria set in the legislation.

The following bags are exempt:

• Dry cleaner bags.
• Bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as garbage bags or to contain pet waste or yard waste.
• Bags used inside a retail establishment by a customer to deliver perishable items to the point of sale (including bags used to package bulk items, meats or fish, unwrapped prepared foods, bakery goods, flowers, potted plants, or similar items).

To assist businesses through this transition, the city is providing various resources during the nine-month education and warning period, all of which are available online here.