Single-use plastic bags are already banned in the city. A city-commissioned study found the 2021 ban effectively reduced plastic bag use but significantly drove up paper bag use.

The new law requires retail establishments in the city to charge customers a 10-cent fee for any single-use bag provided at the point of sale. The fee will not apply to bags used for take-out, drive-through orders, deliveries or bags that enclose utensils or condiments. The new law also clarifies that establishments cannot provide thicker single-use plastic bags.

The mandatory fee takes effect in 60 days, according to the text of the bill that passed Council.

Former Mayor Jim Kenney pocket vetoed a similar bill at the end of his term. A fee was struck from the original plastic bag ban over concerns from then-Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez that it would amount to a regressive tax, which disproportionately burdens low-income residents. 

If Parker had vetoed the bill, it’s unclear whether Council would have overridden that veto. It takes 12 votes to override a mayor’s veto, and the bag fee bill only received 10 votes when it passed Council late last month.

Two council members were absent during that vote. One, at-large Councilmember Kendra Brooks, supports the bag fee bill. The other, at-large Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, had not said how she would vote.