Del. Plastic Bag Ban Begins Jan. 1st

Delaware is one month away from banning plastic carryout bags.

Starting New Year’s Day, single-use plastic bags will not be permitted at the point of sale at the majority of establishments.

Delawareans are encouraged to keep using, or start using, re-usable bags for grocery shopping. Re-usable bags should be cleaned and disinfected between uses.

“Each Delawarean uses about 434 plastic bags and that means nearly 2,400 tons of plastic bags end up in our landfills annually,” Delaware Natural Resources Secretary Shawn Garvin said. “A decrease by the public of plastic carryout bags can mitigate a large portion of this waste, and help our environment by reducing the amount plastic bags on our roads and waterways that can harm us and our wildlife.”

There are a few exceptions under the state law signed by Governor John Carney last year. Restaurants and small stores with one or two locations are not subject to the ban on single-use plastic bags.