The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reminds shoppers that their packaging options are about to change.

Starting July 1, all retail stores in Delaware — excluding restaurants — will no longer provide plastic bags at checkout.

An updated plastic-bag ban, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, expands the 2019 ban to include all retail stores, regardless of size, and prohibits the distribution or sale of plastic film bags at checkout.

The state’s 2019 ban allows 2.25-millimeter-thick plastic bags that are considered reusable.

However, in June 2021, the legislature enhanced the law to prohibit all plastic carryout bags, regardless of thickness.

Starting next month, retailers can offer paper bags or reusable bags made from durable fabrics with stitched handles. The law also allows stores to charge customers for such bags at checkout.

DNREC encourages the use of fabric bags, while advising that these reusable bags should be cleaned after each use.

The goal of the enhanced ban is to reduce litter, to save landfill space, to increase recycling efforts and to help recycling facilities avoid delays when plastic bags get stuck in machinery.

“Prior to the enactment of this law in 2019, it was estimated that each Delawarean used around 434 plastic bags each year, many of which wound up as waste in our landfills,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “By realigning the legislation to further limit the use of film carryout bags, we are reducing waste that all too often ends up along our roadways, in our waterways and along our shorelines — all detrimental to our environment, including harmful effects on our wildlife and marine creatures.”

Stores that continue to provide exempt bags are required to maintain an at-store recycling program for plastic and film bags, including cereal box liners, newspaper sleeves and single-use produce, meat and seafood bags. The drop-off locations should be visible and accessible within the building. Bags that are no longer reusable or unwanted should be recycled there.

DNREC also reminds residents that plastic bags should never be placed in curbside recycling bins.

For information, visit here.