Duluth's plastic bag fee goes into effect this Friday, Oct. 15.

Grocery stores and other retailers will have to charge $.05 per plastic bag, with some exceptions.

Paper bags are exempted, but some stores are choosing to charge for them too. Mount Royal Foods, for example, plans to charge $.05 for both plastic and paper. The general manager said that's because paper bags cost the store about three times as much as plastic. 

People on SNAP and WIC are not subject to the bag fee. The fee is not subject to sales tax. 

Other exemptions include:

• Bags without handles used for produce or meat
• Bags containing prescription drugs
• Bags for take-out food
• Newspaper bags
• Door-hanger bags
• Dry cleaning bags
• Bags sold in packages used for garbage, pet waste, or yard waste

The ordinance was originally approved in November 2019 but has been postponed several times because of the pandemic. Eventually, city councilors tied it to the COVID-19 emergency order, saying that when the order expired, the fee would go into effect 90 days later. 

To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the WDIO-TV website. https://www.wdio.com/news/duluth-plastic-bag-fee-goes-into-effect-friday/6266586/