Litter reduction

AN ACT Relating to reducing litter, including by amending 1
carryout bag requirements; amending RCW 70A.530.020; and creating a 2
new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The department of ecology must convene 5
a littering solutions task force to provide policy recommendations to 6
the legislature to reduce littering and litter in Washington. The 7
goal of the policy recommendations is to ensure that at least as much 8
litter is being collected annually in Washington as is deposited. The 9
department of ecology may contract with an independent third-party 10
facilitator to convene the littering solutions task force.11
(2) The department of ecology must select one member to the 12
littering solutions task force from each of the following entities or 13
interests: 14
(a) The department of ecology; 15
(b) The department of transportation; 16
(c) The Washington state patrol; 17
(d) The parks and recreation commission; 18
(e) The Washington state association of counties;19
(f) The department of natural resources; 20
(g) The department of fish and wildlife; and 21
H-2751.1
HOUSE BILL 2284
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Dye, Klicker, Graham, and Barnard
Prefiled 01/07/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Environment & Energy.
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(h) Associations representing: 1
(i) Solid waste collection and management companies in 2
Washington; 3
(ii) Retail groceries; 4
(iii) Hospitality businesses; 5
(iv) Convenience stores; 6
(v) Tourism; 7
(vi) Beverage producers; 8
(vii) Tobacco product manufacturers; and 9
(viii) The Washington state association of counties.10
(3) In developing recommendations, the littering solutions task 11
force must, at minimum, consider: 12
(a) The results of the department of ecology's 2022 statewide 13
litter study; 14
(b) How to reduce litter at specific public sites such as 15
roadways, interchanges, rest areas, state and county parks, and 16
public recreation lands managed by the department of natural 17
resources and the department of fish and wildlife;18
(c) How to reduce the most commonly littered types of litter, 19
such as construction and demolition debris and cigarette butts; and20
(d) How to reduce the cost-per-mile of litter cleanup along state 21
roadways and the root causes of why the average amount of litter per 22
mile far exceeds the average amount of litter per mile along roadways 23
in other states. 24
(4) The department of ecology must submit a status update to the 25
appropriate committees of the legislature by January 15, 2027, and a 26
final report consisting of the recommendations of the littering 27
solutions task force by November 15, 2027. 28
Sec. 2. RCW 70A.530.020 and 2025 c 312 s 3 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) Beginning January 1, 2021, except as provided in this section 31
and RCW 70A.530.030, a retail establishment may not provide to a 32
customer or a person at an event: 33
(a) A single-use plastic carryout bag; 34
(b) A paper carryout bag that does not meet the requirements of 35
subsection (6)(a) of this section or a reusable carryout bag made of 36
film plastic that does not meet recycled content requirements; or37
(c) Beginning January 1, 2028, a reusable carryout bag made of 38
film plastic with a thickness of less than four mils, in the event 39
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that the 2026 legislature does not amend this section to reflect the 1
recommendations to the legislature made consistent with RCW 2
70A.530.060. 3
(2)(a) A retail establishment may provide a reusable carryout bag 4
or a compliant paper carryout bag of any size to a customer at the 5
point of sale. A retail establishment may make reusable carryout bags 6
available to customers through sale. 7
(b)(i) Until December 31, 2025, a retail establishment must 8
collect a pass-through charge of eight cents for every compliant 9
paper carryout bag with a manufacturer's stated capacity of one-10
eighth barrel (eight hundred eighty-two cubic inches) or greater or 11
reusable carryout bag made of film plastic it provides, except as 12
provided in subsection (5) of this section and RCW 70A.530.030.13
(ii) Beginning January 1, 2026, a retail establishment must 14
collect a pass-through charge of twelve cents for reusable carryout 15
bags made of film plastic and eight cents for compliant paper 16
carryout bags. 17
(iii) ((Until December 31, 2027, a )) A retail establishment that 18
offers for sale a reusable carryout bag made of film plastic with a 19
thickness equal to or greater than four mils shall collect, in 20
addition to the 12 cent pass-through charge, a four cent penalty. The 21
penalty shall be deposited in the waste reduction, recycling, and 22
litter control account under RCW 70A.200.140. 23
(c) A retail establishment must keep all revenue from pass-24
through charges, not including the penalty provided under (b)(iii) of 25
this subsection. The pass-through charge is a taxable retail sale. A 26
retail establishment must show all pass-through charges and penalties 27
on a receipt provided to the customer. 28
(3) Carryout bags provided by a retail establishment do not 29
include: 30
(a) Bags used by consumers inside stores to: 31
(i) Package bulk items, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, 32
candy, greeting cards, or small hardware items such as nails, bolts, 33
or screws; 34
(ii) Contain or wrap items where dampness or sanitation might be 35
a problem including, but not limited to: 36
(A) Frozen foods; 37
(B) Meat; 38
(C) Fish; 39
(D) Flowers; and 40
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(E) Potted plants; 1
(iii) Contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods;2
(iv) Contain prescription drugs; or 3
(v) Protect a purchased item from damaging or contaminating other 4
purchased items when placed in a compliant paper carryout bag or 5
reusable carryout bag; or 6
(b) Newspaper bags, mailing pouches, sealed envelopes, door 7
hanger bags, laundry/dry cleaning bags, or bags sold in packages 8
containing multiple bags for uses such as food storage, garbage, or 9
pet waste. 10
(4)(a) Any compostable film bag , including, but not limited to, 11
compostable film bags derived in whole or in part from potato starch, 12
that a retail establishment provides to customers for products, 13
including for products bagged in stores prior to checkout, must meet 14
the requirements for compostable products and film bags in chapter 15
70A.455 RCW. 16
(b) A retail establishment may not use or provide polyethylene or 17
other noncompostable plastic bags for bagging of customer products in 18
stores, as carryout bags, or for home delivery that do not meet the 19
requirements for noncompostable products and film bags in chapter 20
70A.455 RCW. 21
(5) Except as provided by local regulations enacted as of April 22
1, 2020, a retail establishment may provide a bag restricted under 23
subsection (1) of this section from existing inventory until one year 24
after June 11, 2020. The retail establishment, upon request by the 25
department, must provide purchase invoices, distribution receipts, or 26
other information documenting that the bag was acquired prior to June 27
11, 2020. 28
(6) For the purposes of this section: 29
(a) A compliant paper carryout bag must: 30
(i) Contain a minimum of forty percent postconsumer recycled 31
materials, a minimum of 40 percent nonwood renewable fiber, or a 32
combination of postconsumer recycled materials and nonwood renewable 33
fiber that totals at least 40 percent; 34
(ii) Be capable of composting, consistent with the timeline and 35
specifications of the entire American society of testing materials 36
D6868 and associated test methods that must be met, as it existed as 37
of January 1, 2020; and 38
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(iii) Display in print on the exterior of the paper bag the 1
minimum percentage of postconsumer content, wheat straw fiber 2
content, or both. 3
(b) A reusable carryout bag must: 4
(i) Have a minimum lifetime of one hundred twenty-five uses, 5
which for purposes of this subsection means the capacity to carry a 6
minimum of twenty-two pounds one hundred twenty-five times over a 7
distance of at least one hundred seventy-five feet;8
(ii) Be machine washable or made from a durable material that may 9
be cleaned or disinfected; and 10
(iii) If made of film plastic: 11
(A) Be made from a minimum of twenty percent postconsumer 12
recycled content until July 1, 2022, and thereafter must be made from 13
a minimum of forty percent postconsumer recycled content;14
(B) Display in print on the exterior of the plastic bag the 15
minimum percentage of postconsumer recycled content, the mil 16
thickness, and that the bag is reusable; and 17
(C) Have a minimum thickness of no less than 2.25 mils ((until 18
December 31, 2027, and beginning January 1, 2028, must have a minimum 19
thickness of four mils)). 20
(c) Except for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, 21
food banks and other food assistance programs are not retail 22
establishments, but are encouraged to take actions to reduce the use 23
of single-use plastic carryout bags. 24
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