Roanoke shoppers to pay 5 cents for every plastic bag starting in 2022

The plastic bag tax starts in January 2022

ROANOKE, Va. – Beginning in 2022, people who shop in the City of Roanoke will have to pay a plastic bag tax.

The tax will cost shoppers five cents for every plastic bag used. The tax will effect grocery stores, drug stores and some convenience stores.

The money from the tax will be used for environmental clean up in the city and providing educational programs to reduce waste.

The hope is for shoppers to bring their own bags when shopping.

“If you bring your reusable bag, you don’t have to pay the tax. so that’s the real motivation here is a behavioral change,” said Roanoke’s Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, Nell Boyle.

Find more information on how this tax will affect you, here.


About the Author:

Sydney joined the WSLS 10 News team in June 2021.