Corvallis, OR Plastic Bag Ban

On July 2, 2012 the Corvallis City Council unanimously passed a plastic bag ban ordinance for local retailers that also includes a five-cent fee for paper bags as an incentive for people to remember their reusable bags. Corvallis members worked with Surfrider staff and the Newport Chapter alongside other local organizations Sierra Club and Environment Oregon to rally grassroots community support for the ordinance. Formally working through a local stakeholder advisory group and the city’s administrative services committee for nearly a year, speaking at City Council meetings and working with local retailers, the vote came unanimously 8-0 for the ordinance. The ordinance is scheduled to take effect for large retailers in January 2013 and six months later for small retailers, as defined in the ordinance language.