According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, effective January 1st, following passage of House Bill 2,509, shoppers in Oregon will no longer receive their supermarket purchases in plastic bags. In their place stores will provide paper bags with 50 percent recycled content at 5 cents each.

The move will encourage shoppers to change to reusable bags, available now in stores for $1 to $4 depending on size and durability.

Shawn Miller a spokesperson for the Northwest Grocery Association stated “plastic bags are so much cheaper than the recycled paper bags. The five-cent charge doesn’t cover the cost between the difference between paper and plastic but it helps make sure grocery costs aren’t going to increase because of the cost shift when you ban plastic,”

There is a growing trend worldwide to ban or require re-cycling of single-use plastic containers. The cost of collection and re-manufacturing of plastic waste in the U.S. frequently exceeds the value of virgin feedstock. The recycling chain has recently been impacted by an embargo on importation of scrap bulk plastic by China, the traditional destination after collection by municipalities. This action has resulted in the closure of recycling centers along the West Coast.