:
John,
We have good news to share!
Oregon just passed a bill that will eliminate plastic bags at checkout, strengthening the state's existing bag ban and preventing more single-use plastic from entering our environment.1
This is a victory for anyone who doesn't want to see our waterways and wild places clogged with plastic items we only use for a few minutes.
Oregon passed a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags back in 2019, but some bags continued to slip through the cracks simply because they were made of thicker plastic film, which was marketed as "reusable."2
The reality was that most of these plastic bags were going the same direction as the thinner ones -- straight from the grocery cart into a landfill. And that's where they would sit for years after being used for only a single afternoon.
This new law eliminates all plastic film bags at checkout, cutting down on the amount of single-use plastic entering our environment.
This is your victory too, John. Since seeing the original bill over the finish line in 2019, our state group Environment Oregon has collected thousands of petition signatures from people just like you urging their legislators to support policies to reduce plastic pollution, organized a powerful statewide coalition and educated Oregonians on the importance of reducing single-use plastic. None of that work would be possible without your action and your support.
Of course, there's a lot more work on the horizon. We're working with our national network to build on that momentum, demonstrating that bag bans like this one really do work, and eliminating more single-use plastic in states and cities around the country.
Victories like this one show us that there is a bipartisan way forward to building the cleaner, healthier future we all believe in. We're going to keep working toward that future -- and taking moments to celebrate wins like this one along the way.
Thank you for joining us in celebrating today,
Lisa Frank
Executive Director
P.S. When our national network is out knocking on doors, lobbying elected officials or gathering petition signatures in support of bills like this one, it's contributions like yours that make that work possible. Will you help keep this momentum going by making a donation today?
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1. Dirk VanderHart, "Oregon lawmakers vote to expand the state's plastic bag ban," OBP, May 27, 2025.
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2. Celeste Meiffren-Swango, "Bill to eliminate plastic film bags at checkout passes Oregon legislature with bipartisan support, heads to governor's desk," Environment America, May 27, 2025.
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Your donation will be used to support all of our campaigns to protect the environment, from saving the bees and protecting public lands, to standing up for clean water and fighting climate change. None of our work would be possible without supporters like you.
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