New Year, New Fees: Washington Plastic Bag Price Increase

If we weren’t feeling the pinch hard enough, it looks like the price for store-bought plastic bags is going to increase in Washington starting on January 1st.

A Love-Hate Relationship With The Plastic Bags

I’m all for reusable bags; my wife and I keep a few in our cars at all times. But when stores started charging for bags, I (with many people) got a little grumpy.

The reason for the charging was to help the environment. If that were the case, my feelings wouldn’t be so strong on the topic, but no, the money raised from the sale of plastic bags goes back to the retailer. Normally, I wouldn’t care; I would treat it like anything else I purchased from the store, but the environment being the main focal point of the change has annoyed me.

READ MORE: Sick of Plastic Bags? Here Are 6 Alternatives To Carry Your Stuff 

Now that the cost of annoyance is set to increase starting on January 1st, 2026. The price for a plastic bag will rise from 8 cents to 12 cents per bag, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

What’s The Big Deal?

I know I may be coming off as an old man shaking his fist at the sky, and yes, to many people, 4 more cents isn’t a big deal. But those little things add up. It’s only 4 cents this year, then a dime next year, and the increases will continue.

Yes, this is in hopes for us to stop using single-use bags, but I wonder what the carbon footprint is in creating the reusable bags vs the single-use (I’ve read many reports from both sides, and I’m still on the fence).

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I guess the only thing we can do is either start paying for our plastic bags with pennies (oh wait, those are going away too) or find some alternatives to a plastic bag, luckily I’ve already written about that (for a comical read, check out that article).