MA Senate Presses Statewide Single-Use Plastic Bag Ban, Recycle Bag Fee

A statewide single-use plastic bag ban that would also include a mandatory fee of 10 cents for all paper bags at checkout will move to the state House of Representatives after its recent passage in the State Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Karen Spilka has been pressing for the ban since the Senate first passed a version of it in 2019. The latest effort is part of a $3.64 billion environmental bond bill.

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While many cities and towns across the state have adopted individual community bans, some have resisted — arguing that charging for recycled plastic or paper has a disproportionate impact on lower-income residents.

Previous efforts from the State Senate to make the ban uniform statewide have stalled in the House.

The bag ban is one of the competing restrictive lifestyle bills making their way through the chambers this legislative season.

The State Senate earlier this session passed a bill that would ban all smartphone use in public schools, with the House of Representatives looking to add a complete ban on social media for all children under 14 years old as part of that bill.

Gov. Maura Healey has previously signaled support for the statewide plastic bag ban.

"The legislation responds to an increasingly littered natural world by removing single-use plastic bags from retail checkout counters," Senate leaders said.

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