Washington’s plastic bag ban on hold during COVID-19
The state Legislature passed the ban on single-use plastic bags with bipartisan support in 2020, but the pandemic has delayed its implementation.
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Glen Quadros, owner of the Great American Diner & Bar, hands over a takeout food order, packaged in compostable containers placed inside a plastic bag, to a waiting customer in Seattle on March 31, 2020. Washington state has delayed a plastic bag ban because of the pandemic. (Elaine Thompson/AP)
On March 9, 2020, 33 state senators voted to pass Senate Bill 5323, making Washington the ninth state to ban single-use plastic bags. Two days later, the World Health Organization classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Along with in-person gatherings, the statewide plastic bag ban became an early victim of the pandemic.