BALTIMORE — Baltimore retailers and residents will have more time before the city's plastic bag ban goes into effect.
The deadline for compliance has now been extended to October 1.
Ordinance 20-337, better known as the Comprehensive Bag Reduction, was signed into law in January 2020 and was supposed to go into effect in January 2021, but was put off by Mayor Brandon Scott due to the pandemic.
It prohibits retailers from providing plastic bags at checkout that are less than 4 millimeters thick unless the bag contains certain products.
The ordinance also requires retailers to collect a 5-cent surcharge for any other bags they provide at checkout.
From June through October, the city will help distribute thousands of reusable bags to residents in need.
“I look forward to robust, coordinated outreach and education efforts taking place across the city in partnership with the Office of Sustainability, elected leaders, and community partners so that Baltimoreans understand the plastic bag ban and our efforts to make our city more sustainable and environmentally aware,” said Scott.
