Community Corner
Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee In Edwardsville Begins In July
Edwardsville, of St. Louis, is the first city in the region to implement a fee for paper and plastic bag use at stores.
June 17, 2021
The city of Edwardsville is rolling out a fee on single-use shopping bags, both plastic and paper.
Edwardsville officials approved a single-use bag fee in grocery stores and other large retail shops back in 2019 and was mean to being in 2020 but was delayed. Now the 10-cent fee will go into effect on July 12.
Edwardsville is the first city in the region to implement a fee for paper and plastic bag use at stores. Across the country, hundreds of cities have either already banned or taxed the single-use bags.
In Edwardsville the new ordinance is a fee, not a tax. According to the plan, it would apply to retail locations with a floor area of 7,000 square feet or greater. The retailers would keep the fees collected.
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It does not apply to bags used by customers inside stores for things such as: packaging of bulk items like fruit, vegetables and grain, wraps for frozen food, meat or fish, prescriptions, or bakery goods.
Locations like farmers markets, fairs or restaurants that give out take-out food would also not be required to pay the fee.
There would be no charge for a bag if the customer can prove they are participating in the Illinois Food Assistance Program.
