The City of Cambridge Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) Ordinance takes effect March 31st, 2016 and affects retail establishments that provide a checkout bag to customers at the point of sale. Retail establishments such as grocery and convenience stores, pharmacies, restaurants, liquor stores, and other retailers must comply with this ordinance.
The purpose of the Ordinance is to reduce the use of disposable checkout bags by retail establishments. Under the ordinance, plastic bags with handles are prohibited. Any reusable, paper, or compostable bag with handles provided at the point of sale must charge a checkout bag charge minimum of $0.10/bag. Businesses must show this as the “Checkout Bag Charge” on the receipt and collect sales tax on each bag. Bags exempt from the Ordinance include produce bags, laundry, dry-cleaner and newspaper bags, and bags used to wrap meat or frozen foods.
Learn more at cambridgema.gov/byob.
