Anchorage ban on plastic shopping bags returns after a pandemic hiatus

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Anchorage Assembly suspended the city’s ban on plastic bags. People feared the coronavirus could spread on surfaces including reusable shopping totes, and paper bags were in short supply.

But on Wednesday, the suspension of the ban officially ended.

The Assembly decided several months ago to end the suspension, according to Assembly member Felix Rivera. The decision was made based on the wider availability of paper bags and lowered concern around surface transmission of the virus.

“Now we’re at a point where we can reinstate the plastic bag ban,” Rivera said.

The Assembly gave retail businesses months to use up their existing stock of plastic bags, Rivera said, and after Wednesday, the bags won’t be allowed in the municipality.

Anchorage is among several Alaska communities that have enacted bans on plastic bags.