St. Louis, MO Single-Use Items: Plastic Bag Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Local Ordinance
- None: proposal blocked 2015
- Preemption Statute
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 260.283 (2015)
- Original Target
- St. Louis bag-ban proposal
- Polystyrene
- Separately preempted by Mo. Rev. Stat. § 260.284
- Curbside Status
- Bags NOT accepted in blue carts
Summary
St. Louis cannot enforce a plastic bag ban or fee. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 260.283 bars every Missouri political subdivision from imposing any ban, fee, or tax on paper or plastic carryout bags. The statute, enacted in 2015 (HB 722), specifically blocked a St. Louis bag-ban proposal then under consideration.
260.283. Paper or plastic bags, customers to have option, when — political subdivisions prohibited from imposing ban, fee, or tax on. — 1. All merchants, itinerant vendors, and peddlers doing business in this state shall have the option to provide customers either a paper or a plastic bag for the packaging of any item or good purchased, provided such purchase is of a size and manner commensurate with the use of paper and plastic bags. 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no political subdivision shall impose any ban, fee, or tax upon the use of either paper or plastic bags for packaging of any item or good purchased from a merchant, itinerant vendor, or peddler. No political subdivision shall prohibit a consumer from using a reusable bag for the packaging of any item or good purchased from a merchant, itinerant vendor, or peddler.
Full Breakdown
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 260.283(2), enacted by HB 722 in 2015, provides: 'No political subdivision shall impose any ban, fee, or tax upon the use of either paper or plastic bags for packaging of any item or good purchased from a merchant, itinerant vendor, or peddler.' Subsection 1 defines the scope broadly. The preemption was enacted specifically in response to bag-ban proposals from St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Columbia, and University City. After § 260.283, all those proposals were tabled or withdrawn. University City briefly enacted a polystyrene foam ban in 2014, which the Legislature followed with a separate polystyrene preemption. St. Louis Refuse Division operates the Curbside Recycling program (which excludes plastic bags from blue carts), the Earth Day STL plastic-film collection events, and partners with the Missouri Recycling Association on the It All Goes Somewhere campaign. St. Louis's Sustainability Plan emphasizes voluntary diversion targets.
Violations & Fines
St. Louis cannot fine retailers or shoppers for bag distribution. Bag-related litter is prosecuted under St. Louis Code Chapter 11 (Solid Waste) and Mo. Rev. Stat. § 577.073 (criminal littering). Putting plastic bags in the curbside recycling cart is contamination, addressed through education and oops-tags rather than citations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does St. Louis have a plastic bag ban?
Did St. Louis ever try a foam ban?
Where can I recycle plastic bags in St. Louis?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Louis
Compare St. Louis to another location·View the Missouri single-use items overview
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