The Delaware Chapter, working closely with Plastic Free Delaware, helped pass a bill that significantly strengthened the current DE bag law, which is full of loopholes and has not adequately reduced plastic bag usage in the state.
The old bag law was so weak that the Chapter did not support its passage in 2020. For example, the old law only applied to big box stores over a certain square footage, and it had a 2.25 mils bag loophole that allowed for thicker bags made of plastic film to be given away for free. This practice circumvented the spirit of the law which was to reduce usage of single use plastic bags, not switch to thicker single use plastic bags.
Delaware House Bill, HB-212 closes the thickness loophole and expands the amount of stores that are subject to the old bag law. It also has a great definition of a reusable bag. Governor Carney signed the law on September 30, 2021.
The Chapter testified at a hearing, shared an action alert, and urged support for the bill.
