Michigan MCL Section 445.594c, enacted in 2016, bars local governments including Grand Rapids from banning, taxing, or regulating auxiliary containers such as plastic bags, leaving retailer practices unregulated at the city level.
In 2016 Michigan adopted Public Act 389, codified at MCL Section 445.594c, prohibiting any local ordinance that imposes a ban, fee, charge, or tax on auxiliary containers, which the statute defines to include plastic bags, cups, bottles, and other disposable packaging. The law forced Washtenaw County to repeal its 10-cent bag fee. Grand Rapids therefore cannot follow cities like Boston or Seattle in adopting bag bans or fees. The city promotes voluntary reusable-bag programs through sustainability outreach instead.
Because the state preempts the field, no local violations exist. A city ordinance attempting a bag ban would be void and unenforceable on judicial challenge.
See how Grand Rapids's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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