Most stores in Montgomery County will no longer offer plastic bags at checkout starting Jan. 1, when a new “Bring Your Own Bag” law takes effect. 

The law, which was passed unanimously by the County Council in February, prohibits retail establishments from providing plastic shopping and carryout bags in most cases.  

Shoppers can pay a 10-cent tax to receive a paper bag as part of the new law. The county currently has a 5-cent tax for single-use plastic and paper bags.  

During a Thursday press conference at Lotte Plaza Market in Rockville, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said he was “very proud” to have signed the new law because it “goes further in protecting our environment and preventing climate change” than the existing bag tax. 

Revenue from the new tax on paper bags will be split evenly between retailers and the county’s Water Quality Protection fund, which the Department of Environmental Protection uses to pay for stream restoration, flood prevention and other clean water initiatives.  

Retailers currently retain one cent from the 5-cent tax on single-use plastic and paper bags. 

Any retail establishment found in violation of the new law would first receive a written warning. A second violation would result in a $500 fine. Subsequent violations would result in a $750 fine and potential legal proceedings, Bethesda Today has reported. 

Amy Stevens, chief of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Watershed and Restoration Division, said during Thursday’s press conference that the county has taken steps in recent months to notify residents and retailers about the new law. 

Those steps included speaking with 4,300 local businesses, distributing more than 25,000 reusable bags at county offices and public events, running advertisements in multiple languages on county buses and posting on social media about the plastic bag ban.  

Under the new law, certain items – such as ice, newspapers, dry-cleaned clothes and produce – can still be placed in plastic bags at no charge. Customers who receive Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and/or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would not have to pay the tax for paper bags.

The plastic bag ban also does not apply to stores in the county’s municipalities unless those municipalities opt in.  

As of Thursday, Councilmember Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) said during Thursday’s press conference, only Rockville had voted to follow the county in banning plastic bags after the council passed the new law. Takoma Park banned plastic bags before the county. 

“It became clear to us when we took office on the County Council that we were actually a little behind [other jurisdictions] when it came to the use of plastic bags,” said Stewart, who previously served as mayor of Takoma Park.  

 Regionally, Prince George’s County has had a near-total ban on the use of plastic carryout bags since January 2024. Also in January 2024, the city of Frederick implemented a ban on plastic bags offered at the point of sale. 

“As many of you know, I am a runner, and I run along Sligo Creek. And the thing that breaks my heart is when I see plastic bags in Sligo Creek or Rock Creek,” Stewart said Thursday. 

“They are such a blight on our community,” she continued. “We all need to be better to make sure that when we’re enjoying nature, that we don’t see plastic bags.”