Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee Returns July 1

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

For your knowledge, with Covid-19 infection rates slowing and businesses reopening, please be advised that the Department of Public Health has determined that re-usable grocery bags “do not serve as a significant source of infection for COVID-19” and the state will re-impose the plastic bag tax, effective July 1, 2020.

The full release from the Department of Revenue Services, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and Department of Public Health follows:

Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee Suspension Set to Expire June 30^th

(Hartford, CT) – The Department of Revenue Services (DRS) is reminding retailers that the temporary suspension of Connecticut’s single-use plastic bag fee, originally implemented by Executive Order on March 26^th, is set to expire on June 30, 2020. Retailers should prepare to resume collection of the state-level plastic bag fee on July 1, 2020.

Any Connecticut retailer that provides plastic bags to its customers in connection with a sale of goods is required to collect the plastic bag fee. The plastic bag fee, which applies statewide at the rate of $0.10 for each single-use plastic bag, is collected by retailers and remitted to DRS on their state sales and use tax return.

As it has throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) strongly encourages state residents who use reusable bags for shopping to continue to do so. Over the past year, Connecticut shoppers have overwhelmingly embraced the use of reusable shopping bags, which helps reduce plastic waste that harms the environment.

According to guidance from the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), given the most current scientific information available, reusable bags do not serve as a significant source of infection for COVID-19.

The primary route of spread of the virus is from person-to-person contact and airborne droplets, though it is important to clean and disinfect all surfaces commonly touched by people. Most reusable bags can be easily cleaned between uses through laundering, hand washing, or wiping with a disinfecting wipe.