AN ORDINANCE
Amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Regulation of Businesses, Trades
and Professions,” by adding a new Chapter 9-4500, entitled “Prohibition on Use of Certain
Bags and Checkout Bag Charge,” to permit the use of only certain bags by retail
establishments at the point of sale or for a delivery; and establishing a charge, payable by the
consumer to the establishment, for the provision of other types of bags; all under certain
terms and conditions.

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:

Section 1. Chapter 9 of The Philadelphia Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 9.

REGULTION OF BUSINESSES, TRADES AND PROFESSIONS
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CHAPTER 9-4500. PROHIBITION ON USE OF
CERTAIN BAGS AND BAG CHARGE.
§9-4501. Definitions.
(1)
“Effective Date” means the effective date of the ordinance that added this
Chapter to The Philadelphia Code.
(2)

“Exempted Bag” means:

(a) a bag used inside a retail establishment by a customer to deliver
perishable items to the point of-sale at that establishment, such as: to package bulk items
such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, or candy; to contain or wrap meats or fish; to contain
unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods; or to contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or
similar items; or
(b) a bag sold in packaging containing multiple bags and packaged at the time
of manufacture of the bag.
(3)
“Plastic” means material that in significant part is produced from oil by a
chemical process that is solid, light in weight and is often used to make bags for carrying
products out of retail establishments.

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 (4)
"Recyclable Paper Bag" means a paper bag that meets the following, but not
including an Exempted Bag:
(a)

contains no old growth fiber;

(c)

contains a minimum of 40% post-consumer recycled content; and

(d)
displays the word "Recyclable" in a highly visible manner and is labeled
with the name of the manufacturer, the country where manufactured, and the percentage of postconsumer recycled content of the bag in an easy-to-read font size.

(5)
“Retail Establishment” means a location where food or other products are
offered to the public for sale for direct removal from the establishment or through delivery to
a home or business, including but not limited to the following: supermarket, convenience
store, service station, department store, dollar store, clothing store, restaurant, food truck,
farmers’ market, dry cleaner or delivery service.
(6)
“Reusable Bag” means a bag or container designed and manufactured for
multiple reuses that is made of durable material and, if made from plastic, is at least 2.25
mils thick.
(7)
“Single-use Plastic Bag” means a bag made from plastic that is less than 2.25
mils thick, but not including an Exempted Bag.
§9-4502. Prohibition Against Single-use Plastic Bags.
(1)
Beginning 90 days after the Effective Date, Retail Establishments are
prohibited from providing a Single-use Plastic Bag or a non-Recyclable Paper Bag to a
customer at the retail establishment or through a delivery.
§9-4503. Imposition of Charge for Provision of Bags.
(1)
Beginning 90 days after the Effective Date, Retail Establishments shall collect
a fifteen cent ($0.15) charge for each Recyclable Paper Bag and each Reusable Bag
provided to a customer at the establishment or through a delivery.
(2)
Waiver of the charge by the Retail Establishment or otherwise reimbursing a
customer for any portion of the charge for the provision of a bag pursuant to subsection 94503(1) is a violation of this Chapter.

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 (3)
A Retail Establishment that is required to collect the charge pursuant to
subsection 9-4503(1) shall indicate on the customer transaction receipt the number of bags
provided and the total amount of the charge for such bags.
§9-4504. Signage Requirement.
(1)
Beginning 30 days after the effective date, and for six months thereafter, Retail
Establishments are required to post at all points of sale conspicuous signage: informing
customers that Single-use Plastic Bags and non-Recyclable Paper Bags will no longer be
provided by the establishment as of the date the prohibition begins; stating the amount of the
charge for any bags that will be provided by the establishment; providing the date such
charges will begin to be collected; explaining what types of bags and purchases are
impacted; and providing any other information the Department may require by regulation.
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SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately.

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