Pass a Fee on Plastic Bags in Virginia Beach

The Virginia Chapter, working with a coalition of other groups including: the Virginia Conservation Network, Virginia Coastal Alliance, Virginia Aquarium, and Litter Free Virginia, is supporting an ordinance in Virginia Beach that would place a five cent fee on thin plastic bags used at grocery and other stores. This work builds on the Chapter's work a year earlier supporting bills S11 and H534 at the State level, which granted local governments this authority, as Virginia is a Dillon rule state. 

As Virginians, the health of our waterways, beaches, and fisheries is critical to our local economy and our way of life. Plastic bags are one of the most common forms of plastic pollution found in beach clean ups and pose a significant threat to our waterways, wildlife, and seafood.

Plastic bags not sent to landfills are often put in recycling bins, where they clog recycling machines and cost recyclers and taxpayers money to remove. Given the option to pay a small fee for these polluting, unnecessary bags, or choose a more cost effective, sustainable, reusable bag, the public has overwhelmingly chosen to bring their own bag.