August 1 marks the first day for Bellingham, WA's bag ban. The city adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and placing a five cent charge per paper bag last July.

Since Bellingham's adoption, three other cities in Washington State have passed similar ordinances, including Seattle. See the full list of local bag bans in the US.

Seattle had previously adopted a 20 cent charge per grocery bag a few years earlier, which was rescinded by voters after heavy lobbying from the plastics industry. The ordinance modeled after Bellingham's ordinance succesfully went into effect in Seattle last month.

Read an article on the Bellingham bag ban in the Seattle Times.

To prepare for ordinance implementation, the city of Bellingham has already sent out 1,500 letters to businesses in the last few weeks. Although there will be an initial learning curve in Bellingham, based on the experience in dozens of other jurisdictions nationwide with plastic bag bans, residents should adjust quickly. 

Listen to a newsclip from the City Council Member, Seth Fleetwood, who championed the bag ban.

In CA, you can still take action and send a support letter for AB 298, the statewide bag ban. The bill's fate will be decided by the end of this month.