“Oregon's plastic bag ban has not resulted in a reduction of overall plastic waste as of March 28, 2026.”

Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, Oregon retail stores and restaurants can no longer provide single-use checkout bags. They also must, in most instances, charge at least five cents for paper bags (with 40% or more post-consumer recycled content), reusable plastic bags (4 mils thick) and reusable fabric bags although restaurants may still provide paper bags at no cost. This change was approved by the 2019 Oregon Legislature, which passed the Sustainable Shopping Initiative (House Bill 2509). Under HB 2509, DEQ is responsible for preparing a legislative report in 2025 on customers’ use of bags at grocery stores.

Recycled paper and reusable plastic bags made up 70% and 30% of the average annual number of bags used in Oregon, respectively, from 2021 to 2023. A new bill passed in 2025 (SB 551), changing the existing law to prohibit both retail establishments and restaurants from providing reusable plastic or fabric checkout bags to customers as of Jan. 1, 2027.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) intends to release the latest Material Recovery and Waste Generation Rates Report during Spring 2026. This report will include data from 2023 and 2024, providing comprehensive information on recovery, disposal, and generation data, as well as recovery rates for Oregon.

The study authors found that, in places with plastic bag bans or taxes, volunteers at shoreline cleanups collected 25 to 47 percent fewer plastic bags as a total fraction of items collected, compared to places with no plastic bag policies. Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist and associate professor at Oregon State University, applauded the research, though she said it's unfortunate that plastic bag bans have become so politicized that a scientific study is needed to back their effectiveness. Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director of the nonprofit Environment Oregon, said the study in Science reinforces the recommendations of a report she co-authored last year, which estimated that five U.S. policies including Portland, Oregon, had prevented the use of 6 billion bags per year.

Those bags were allowed under a 2019 bill that blocked grocers and restaurants from handing out single-use plastic bags at checkout. “I still think it’s an exciting win. It’s reducing a significant amount of plastic waste.”

The Oregon Senate passed on Tuesday Senate Bill 551, which would eliminate all bags made of plastic film at checkout at restaurants, grocery stores and other retail establishments in Oregon. “While narrowing the scope of SB 551 was a missed opportunity, addressing pollution from plastic film bags is a huge win for our environment,” said Tara Brock, Pacific legal director and senior counsel for Oceana. “Flexible plastic is the deadliest type of plastic to marine animals, pollutes our parks and beaches, and gums up our local recycling facilities.”

In May 2025, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 551, which would expand the state's existing laws regarding plastic waste. The bill, awaiting the governor’s signature, would prohibit retailers and restaurants from offering reusable plastic or fabric checkout bags starting January 1, 2027.

A 2019 study assessing the impacts of the California plastic bag ban found a 120% increase in sales of plastic trash bags in the months following the ban, offsetting some of the reduction in plastic pollution. This suggests that while the ban decreased plastic pollution, it did not eliminate plastic use entirely and could lead to consumers purchasing other plastic products to compensate.

Oregon's Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), passed in 2021 and effective July 1, 2022, requires producers to evaluate and publicly disclose the life cycle impacts of their packaging and products. Reporting on these impacts begins in 2026, providing a framework for assessing overall plastic waste generation and reduction efforts.

Oregon's plastic bag ban, created in 2019, bans the sale of single-use plastic grocery bags. These fines still aren't enforced. Oregon stores continue to use single-use plastic bags with zero consequences. Having bans on plastic bags in effect with no real enforcement isn't doing anything to help our planet.

As of 2025, twelve states, including Oregon, have implemented bans on single-use plastic bags, with variations in their specific regulations. California, for example, is moving to eliminate all plastic shopping bags in grocery stores by 2026, closing loopholes that previously allowed thicker plastic bags to be sold as “reusable,” highlighting a trend towards reducing plastic consumption altogether.

Proponents argue that the expanded ban will reduce plastic waste in waterways and help businesses save money by reducing the need to purchase plastic goods. Sollman told KCBY that water testing done in Oregon found that more than 30 waterways in the state showed signs of microplastic pollution.

Authorities said the thicker bags, despite their intended reusability, ended up in the garbage and elsewhere as litter. Oregon’s previous single-use plastic bag ban went into effect Jan. 1, 2020. This time, lawmakers sought to take the ban further.

Studies on plastic bag bans in various US states, such as California's, have shown mixed results: initial bans reduced thin plastic bag use but led to increased adoption of thicker 'reusable' bags, which often end up as waste without significantly lowering overall plastic tonnage due to higher material use per bag.

While traditional thin plastic bags were banned at checkouts in the Beaver State back at the start of 2020, the thicker "reusable" plastic bags quickly swept in to fill that void. However, in June of 2025, Oregon passed further legislation that will remove these thick plastic alternatives from the mix starting January 1, 2027.