Boston Ordinance 16-26, the Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance, bans thin plastic checkout bags at retailers and requires a 5 cent minimum charge on recycled-paper or compliant reusable bags provided at checkout.
Adopted in December 2018, Boston Ordinance 16-26 prohibits retail establishments from providing single-use plastic checkout bags less than 3 mils thick. Retailers may offer recycled-content paper bags with at least 40 percent post-consumer content, or thicker reusable plastic bags meeting the ordinance's reuse standard, and must charge customers a minimum of 5 cents per bag, with the retailer keeping the fee. Boston's Public Works Department and ISD enforce the rule. Massachusetts later enacted a statewide bag standard effective in 2024, but Boston's local fee remains in force where it is at least as strict as state law.
Stores caught issuing banned thin plastic bags or skipping the 5 cent fee face warnings on the first offense and escalating fines up to $300 per day for repeat violations.
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See how Boston's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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