:


John,

No trip to the grocery store should result in hundreds of years of plastic bag pollution. And now for shoppers across Oregon, it won't.

After hours of canvassing, lobbying and student-led organizing through PIRG and our partner organizations, we got a bill to phase out all plastic film bags through the Oregon state Legislature with bipartisan support and signed into law by Governor Tina Kotek.

This law will eliminate all plastic bags from checkout at restaurants, grocery stores and other retail establishments throughout the state.[1]

In 2019, Oregon passed a similar bill requiring stores to get rid of single-use plastic bags and instead use paper bags or so-called reusable plastic bags for a five cent fee. Unfortunately, most people simply treated those thicker "reusable" plastic bags as single-use, resulting in unnecessary plastic waste.[2]

By strengthening the bag law, Oregon will significantly cut down the amount of plastic waste entering our environment daily. Fewer bags means less plastic clogging our waterways and collecting in our own bodies in the form of microplastic.

It's easy to be intimidated by the sheer scale of our plastic pollution problem -- Americans throw away enough plastic to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium every 16 hours, after all.[3] But if this bill's passage shows us anything, it's that diligent organizing and grassroots activism can bring about lasting change.

Though we have a long way to go, change is happening, and we're only at the start.

Thank you for making our work possible,

Faye Park
President

P.S. This victory wouldn't have happened without generous donations from supporters like you. Give today to help us achieve our next win.
[link removed]

1. Celeste Meiffren-Swango and Charlie Fisher, "Bill to eliminate plastic film bags at checkout passes Oregon legislature with bipartisan support, heads to governor's desk," PIRG, May 27, 2025.
[link removed]
2. Celeste Meiffren-Swango, "Why we need to strengthen Oregon's plastic bag ban," Environment Oregon, October 14, 2024.
[link removed]
3. "How to reduce plastic waste this Earth Day," PIRG, April 21, 2025.
[link removed]




-----------------------------------------------------------

Your donation will power our dedicated staff of organizers, policy experts and attorneys who drive all of our campaigns in the public interest, from banning toxic pesticides and moving us beyond plastic, to saving our antibiotics and being your consumer watchdog, to protecting our environment and our democracy. None of our work would be possible without the support of people just like you.

-----------------------------------------------------------

U.S. PIRG
[email protected]
Facebook: [link removed]
Twitter: [link removed]
Main Office: 1543 Wazee St., Suite 460, Denver, CO 80202 | (303) 801-0582
Federal Advocacy Office: 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 4th Fl., Washington, DC 20003 | (202) 546-9707
Member Questions or Requests: 1-800-838-6554
If you want us to stop sending you email then follow this link -- [link removed]