As cost of grocery bags rises to 12 cents, WSU study finds bag fee is creating more plastic waste even as number of bags plummets

When getting her groceries, Lisa Villella almost always forgets her reusable bags at home.

“I think this is the only time I’ve ever remembered to bring one,” she said coming out of Grocery Outlet in downtown Spokane earlier this month. “It’s really bad. I have got bags in bags in bags. I’ve got them all hung up on my kitchen wall.”

Even though she brought one reusable bag, Villella still had to buy two new plastic bags because her groceries did not fit in the one she brought.

A recent Washington State University study suggests Villella may not be alone. While the cost of a reusable plastic bag will increase by 4 cents in the new year, the study calls into question the effectiveness of a law aimed at reducing waste from single-use bags.

The findings, however, received pushback from state agencies that say researchers may have lacked data to reach their conclusions.

Passed by the Legislature in 2020, the law aimed to encourage shoppers to either reuse the same bag for multiple visits or purchase reusable grocery bags, thereby reducing plastic waste. In October 2021, those who do not bring their own bag to the store started paying 8 cents for a reusable plastic grocery bag or paper bag.

The law mirrored similar legislation in other states, including California, Oregon and Connecticut.

Under the law, the rate will increase to 12 cents at the start of the new year. While the money collected from these fees is retained by the retailer, the fee is subject to state and local sales tax.

Another component of the law, which would increase the thickness of bags from 2.25 mil to 4-mil, was delayed from 2026 to 2028 following legislation supported by the Department of Ecology.

Andrew Wineke, a spokesperson for the agency, said the delay will give the agency “more time to seek out additional information and evaluate the best way to reduce energy use, prevent litter and protect recycling.”

According to the study, though, consumers are not reusing the same plastic bag frequently enough to account for the increased bag thickness.

The study found that to be effective, the number of plastic bags used today would have to be 78% percent lower than what was used prior to the law’s adoption, in part because the new bags are 4.5 times thicker than the bags previously used and use 4.45 times more plastic.

The number of plastic bags used between 2021 and 2022 only decreased by 50%, while the total plastic used by weight actually increased by 17% during this period, according to the WSU study.

“In Washington, the single-use plastic bag ban has reduced plastic bag use by an estimated 50% and thereby has likely reduced the number of plastic bags littered in the environment,” the study states. “However, the plastic bags that end up being littered are thicker, yielding more plastic by volume in the environment.”

Despite their cost, Villella likes the thicker bags.

“I think I’ve seen a lot less plastic just being on the ground. They are actually really nice bags, so I do feel like I’m getting something. And they don’t break,” she said.

In response to the report, the state departments of Commerce and Ecology attached a four-page memo atop the report evaluating the study.

In their response, the agencies said the finding was based on limited data. The memo stated that plastic bag distributors also declined to share data on bag sales.

“Taken together, Commerce and Ecology believe that the lack of robust available data limits the report’s ability to present a comprehensive view of the change in total bag sales and distribution in Washington following the implementation of the single-use bag ban,” the response states.

Andrew Wineke, spokesperson for the Department of Ecology, said the agency does not dispute the finding.

“But because that part of the study was based on a single distributor, it may not reflect bag sales or use statewide,” Wineke said. “We believe more information is needed to guide our state’s policy going forward.”

Wineke said banning single-use plastic had an array of goals, including reducing litter, contamination in recycling and incentivizing shoppers to bring their own reusable bags.

The report also found that the fee charged to consumers is insufficient to account for the cost to retailers. It cites a 2024 study conducted by the Northwest Grocery Retailers Association, which found that paper bags have an average cost of 16 cents a bag to retailers while reusable plastic bags range in cost from 10 cents to 39 cents a bag.

Grocery Outlet shopper Nick Powers said he worries the increase to the cost of bags will make it harder for him to afford groceries.

“I think it sucks. I do understand the benefit to the planet and everything, but having this cost disproportionately affects lower-income people,” he said. “Plus, I always forget my bag.”

Claudia Powers supports the increasing cost to plastic bags – in opposition to her significant other.

“Plastic bags are just garbage. They are bad for the planet,” she said. “So the less plastic we have going around, the better.”