Oregon Senate passes updated bill to ban plastic bags at restaurants

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Oregon Senate re-passed a bill aiming to completely eliminate plastic bags at all checkouts from grocery stores and restaurants.

After originally passing in March, Senate Bill 551 passed once again with a 22-8 vote on Tuesday, May 27. The new version of the bill comes with a few changes.

Previous versions of the bill included a provision that would prohibit business owners and hotel staff from providing utensils, condiment packages, or toiletry containers made of plastic unless requested by customers. However, the Oregon House removed those sections.

Earlier this year, a study from Portland State University revealed that small particles of plastic products were making their way into Oregon seafood. Out of the 182 fish and shrimp samples that were assessed, researchers detected 1,806 particles that were believed to be microplastics in all but two of the samples.

This is another advancement in officials’ efforts to reduce use of plastics and other materials that could harm the environment. Oregon’s plastic bag ban for grocery stores went into effect in 2020. A ban against Styrofoam containers started this year.

SB 551 now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk for her to sign.