Charlotte, NC Single-Use Items: Plastic Bag Rules (2026)

Until 2023, North Carolina had no affirmative bag-ban preemption — but the General Assembly's 2017 repeal of the Outer Banks bag ban (S.L. 2017-209, overriding Governor Cooper's veto) made clear that local bag bans would not be tolerated. In 2023, the legislature enacted Section 12.10 of S.L. 2023-134 (HB 259, the biennial budget bill), which preempts cities and counties from 'restricting or regulating the use, sale, disposition, or distribution of auxiliary containers' — defined to include bags, cups, bottles, and packaging in plastic, paper, polystyrene, and similar materials. The preemption applies through June 30, 2025 under the budget bill, with the legislature reaffirming the policy in each subsequent budget cycle. Charlotte considered a bag-ban proposal in 2019 but tabled it amid the legislative debate. Mecklenburg County Solid Waste & Recycling operates the Curbside Recycling Program (no plastic bags), the Wipe Out Waste education campaign, and four full-service recycling centers (Compost Central, Foxhole Landfill, Hickory Grove, and North Mecklenburg) that accept some plastic film. Charlotte's Strategic Energy Action Plan targets zero-waste goals through voluntary action.