Philadelphia outlawed plastic checkout bags years ago, but a report has suggested the policy is still not reaching every counter in the city.
For shoppers hoping to cut waste and keep their neighborhoods cleaner, the findings highlight both the progress that has been made and the work that still remains.
What happened?
Philadelphia’s City Council approved a plastic bag ban in 2019, which went into effect in 2021. A 10-cent bag fee was added in January to encourage shoppers to bring their own bags rather than simply replacing plastic with another single-use option, such as paper bags.
However, PennEnvironment’s Research & Policy Center found that over half of the surveyed businesses across Philadelphia were violating the city law…