Mesa, AZ Single-Use Items: Plastic Bag Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Statute
- ARS 11-269.18
- Year
- 2015 (SB 1241)
- Scope
- Bags, cups, containers
- Fees
- Preempted too
- Penalty for cities
- Shared revenue withhold
Summary
ARS Section 11-269.18, signed in 2015, prohibits Mesa and every other Arizona city or county from banning, taxing, or regulating single-use plastic bags or other auxiliary containers. Local fees on bags are also preempted.
A city or town may not: 1. Impose a tax, fee, assessment, charge or return deposit on a consumer or an owner, operator or tenant of a business, commercial building or multifamily housing property for auxiliary containers. 2. Regulate the sale, use or disposition of auxiliary containers by an owner, operator or tenant of a business, commercial building or multifamily housing property. B. The regulation of the sale, use and disposition of auxiliary containers is a matter of statewide concern. The regulation of the sale, use or disposition of auxiliary containers by an owner, operator or tenant of a business, commercial building or multifamily housing property pursuant to this section is not subject to further regulation by a city or town. C.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Arizona Revised Statute 11-269.18, enacted by SB 1241 in 2015, expressly preempts Arizona counties and cities including Mesa from regulating, banning, or imposing fees on single-use auxiliary containers, defined to include plastic bags, paper bags, polystyrene cups, boxes, bottles, and other packaging. The statute directly responded to local bag-fee proposals in Bisbee and Tempe. Mesa City Code therefore has no plastic bag ban or surcharge. Any Mesa ordinance attempting to charge or ban plastic carryout bags would be void on enactment, and the state can withhold shared revenue from non-compliant cities under ARS Title 41 ouster procedures. Voluntary recycling programs remain legal.
Violations & Fines
Mesa cannot enforce a plastic bag ban; merchants face no city penalties for using or distributing single-use plastic bags, paper bags, or polystyrene takeout containers under current state law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't Mesa charge for plastic bags like California cities?
Can Mesa stores voluntarily go bagless?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mesa
Compare Mesa to another location·View the Arizona single-use items overview
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Plastic Bag Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle plastic bag rules.