Bellingham suspends plastic shopping bag ban over coronavirus fears
Bellingham shoppers can leave their reusable grocery bags at home as long as the new coronavirus pandemic persists, Mayor Seth Fleetwood said Tuesday, March 31.
Fleetwood suspended enforcement of the city’s plastic grocery bag ban for one year, or until the proclamation of local emergency he issued earlier this month is revoked, the city said in a statement at its website.
“Store clerks have expressed concerns about having to handle reusable bags that customers bring to the stores because of the potential risk of transmitting the coronavirus,” Fleetwood said in the statement.
Local retailers can give their customers single-use plastic bags and waive collection of the five-cent fee for paper bags, the city said.
Bellingham has banned single-use plastic grocery bags since 2012, and a similar ban is set to take effect statewide on Jan. 1, 2021.
Grocery stores and supermarkets can stay open during a statewide social-distancing order to limit the spread of the virus.
Such stores have taken several measures to protect customers and employees, including the installation of sneeze guards between clerks and customers.
It remains uncertain whether the virus can be transmitted via reusable bags, and many people want to err on the side of caution.
Observers have told The Bellingham Herald that many customers are bagging their own groceries in stores where employees used to do that.
