Our friends at the Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment (CCE) have been working really hard to bring stakeholders together to put forth a solution for single-use plastic bags. The deadline for the Environment Committee to mark bills for a public hearing is less than a week away (Wed. 2/20) and the bill has not moved! We need your help! Please call our local legislators, ask them to co-sponsor the bill, and voice their support to Environment Committee leadership, as soon as possible!

HB 6011: An Act Regulating the Transition from Plastic Single-Use Carryout Bags to Reusable Bags is the hybrid ban/phaseout model being supported by CCE, the Surfrider Foundation, and the CT Food Association as well as the Connecticut River Conservancy. We view this as a huge step towards eliminating pollution from plastic bags and promoting reusable bag use across the state, but we need your help to move it forward!

 Highlights of the bill include:

  • Bans thin film plastic bags, up to 3 mils thick;
  • Establishes a 15 cent minimum charge on paper and plastic bags over 3 mils thick;
  • Phase-out to 100% plastic-free after 3 years, or once an 80% statewide reduction in plastic consumption is achieved (whichever comes first);
  • Charge on paper bags increases to 25 cents upon phase-out;
  • Encourages grocery stores & retailers to donate reusable bags for customers receiving SNAP and WIC benefits;
  • Allows towns with local laws re: checkout bags to keep their policies in place, until such time as the phase-out kicks in.

Contact your legislators TODAY and ask them to co-sponsor HB 6011 and urge Environment Committee leadership to call the bill for a public hearing! Click here to find your legislators.

Tell them:

  • Plastic pollution threatens our marine environment and aquatic wildlife, and they litter our communities too!
  • Banning plastic and charging a fee for paper bags is the most effective way to change consumer behavior and encourage shoppers to bring their own bags;
  • Please co-sponsor and urge the Environment Committee chairs to move this bill for a public hearing, before the committee deadline on 2/20!

Thanks for taking action. Together, we make a difference!