Act 87 of 2024 ended Pennsylvania's multi-year moratorium preempting local plastic bag and single-use plastic ordinances, restoring municipal authority to regulate or ban single-use carryout bags.
From 2020 through mid-2024 Pennsylvania imposed a statutory moratorium that preempted municipalities from enacting bans, fees, or restrictions on single-use plastic carryout bags and similar items. Act 87 of 2024 allowed that preemption to expire and clarified that local governments may again regulate single-use plastics. As a result, Philadelphia's longstanding plastic bag ban (which had been operating despite the moratorium under city home-rule authority) and ordinances in Pittsburgh, West Chester, and Narberth are now on firmer legal footing, and other municipalities are free to adopt bag fees, bans, or reusable-bag requirements. The state has not adopted a statewide ban or fee.
Retailers in covered municipalities can be cited by local code enforcement for distributing prohibited bags; statewide there is no penalty.
Bethlehem, PA
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Bethlehem, PA
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Bethlehem, PA
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Bethlehem, PA
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Bethlehem, PA
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Bethlehem, PA
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See how Bethlehem's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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