- What it is: SB 551 is Oregon's new checkout bag law. It was signed on June 5, 2025, and its bag rules start on January 1, 2027. It builds on the state's 2019 bag law, which already banned thin plastic checkout bags in 2020.
- What changes: Thick plastic bags will be banned at store and restaurant checkouts. These are the heavier plastic bags, at least 4 mils thick, that the old law still allowed. Cloth bags handed out at checkout are also no longer allowed.
- What is allowed: Recycled paper bags only. At least 40% of the paper's fiber must be recycled fiber from used paper, plant fiber that does not come from trees, or a mix of the two. Paper bags that miss this mark count as banned bags.
- The fee: Stores must charge at least 5 cents for each paper bag, and cities or counties can set a higher fee. Shoppers using WIC or EBT benefits pay nothing. Restaurants can give paper bags for free.
- What is not affected: The law only covers bags handed out at checkout. Bags used inside the store, such as bags for produce, bulk food, meat, and bakery items, are fine. Packs of trash bags sold to customers are also outside the law.
- The penalty: A business can be fined up to $250 for each violation. Each day it keeps breaking the rule counts as a new violation.
- REGENPLAST's role: REGENPLAST supplies paper bags made with FSC Recycled-certified paper and is ready to help Oregon buyers switch to compliant paper bags before the 2027 deadline. REGENPLAST's produce bags and can liners are not affected by the law.
Oregon has limited checkout bags since January 1, 2020. That year, a 2019 law called House Bill 2509 banned thin plastic checkout bags across the state. But it left stores and restaurants with three other choices: recycled paper bags, cloth bags, and thick plastic bags. A plastic bag counted as "reusable" if it was at least 4 mils thick. A mil is one-thousandth of an inch, so these bags are heavier and stiffer than the thin bags they replaced.
SB 551 removes the last two choices. Starting January 1, 2027, a store or restaurant may give out only one kind of bag at checkout: a recycled paper bag. The law now treats every other checkout bag as a banned single-use bag. That includes thick plastic bags, cloth bags, and paper bags that do not meet the recycled fiber rule. The material does not matter. What matters is whether the bag is given out at checkout.
The legislature passed the bill in May 2025, and Governor Tina Kotek signed it on June 5, 2025. The law itself took effect on January 1, 2026, but the new bag rules wait until January 1, 2027. This delay gives businesses time to prepare. Early drafts of the bill went further. They also covered plastic forks, sauce packets, and small hotel shampoo bottles. Those parts were removed during the House review, so the final law deals only with checkout bags.
The idea behind thick plastic bags was simple. A sturdier bag would be used again and again, so stores would hand out fewer bags overall. Supporters of SB 551 said that often did not happen. Many shoppers used a thick bag once and threw it away.
These bags were also very common. In an August 2025 report to the legislature, Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) looked at grocery data from 2021 to 2023. It estimated that grocery stores with over 20 workers bought about 66 million thick plastic bags a year. That was about 30% of their checkout bags. The other 70%, about 152 million bags a year, were paper.
The same report looked at what shoppers paid. On average, stores charged 9 cents for a thick plastic bag and 6 cents for a paper bag. Shoppers still bought over twice as many paper bags. DEQ noted that the lower price of paper may help explain why. In other words, paper is already the main checkout bag in Oregon. After January 1, 2027, it will be the only one.
Here is a quick look at the rules from January 1, 2027:
Retail stores: A store must charge at least 5 cents for each paper bag, and a city or county can set a higher fee. The store keeps the fee, which helps cover the cost of the bags. Under the old law, stores could give away free cloth bags as a promotion on up to 12 days a year. That option also ends in 2027. Shoppers can still bring their own bags from home.
Restaurants: A restaurant can give out paper bags without charging for them. Today, some restaurants still offer thick plastic bags for a fee. That has to stop by January 1, 2027. Restaurants with a lot of takeout or delivery orders should check how many paper bags they will need, and in what sizes, before the switch.
Bags that are not affected: The law only covers bags handed out at checkout. Bags used inside the store are fine. Examples include bags for fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, and small hardware like nails and screws. Bags that keep meat, fish, frozen food, flowers, or plants apart from other items are also fine. So are bags for bakery goods, unwrapped prepared food, and prescriptions. Garment, laundry, dry cleaning, and newspaper bags are outside the law too, as are packs of trash, food storage, or pet waste bags sold to customers. So produce bags and garbage bags and can liners can still be used and sold in Oregon.
The deadline: Any thick plastic or cloth checkout bags still in stock should be used up or replaced before January 1, 2027. After that date, a business can be fined up to $250 for each violation. Each day it keeps breaking the rule counts as a new violation, so the cost can add up quickly.
One rule for the whole state: Oregon keeps local bag rules in line with state law. Cities and counties can raise the 5-cent fee or set their own penalties. But they cannot change which bags are allowed or write their own paper bag standard. A business also cannot be charged twice for the same violation, once under local rules and once under state law. For suppliers, this means one paper bag that meets the state rule works anywhere in Oregon.
Check the paper bag: Not every paper bag sold as "recycled" qualifies. At least 40% of its fiber must come from used paper (known as post-consumer recycled fiber), from plants that are not trees, or from a mix of both. A bag made mostly from factory scraps, for example, may be called recycled but still miss the mark. Ask your supplier for papers that show the fiber content of each bag, and keep them on file.
REGENPLAST is ready for this change. It supplies paper bags made with FSC Recycled-certified paper, and it works with each buyer to match paper bag orders to Oregon's new rules. For stores and restaurants planning their switch, REGENPLAST can help line up the right paper bags well before January 1, 2027.
[References]
Oregon Legislature, "Oregon Laws 2025, Chapter 276 (SB 551)" → Read the Source
Oregon Legislative Assembly, "Enrolled Senate Bill 551 (SB 551-B)" → Read the Source
Oregon Legislative Assembly, "SB 551 B Staff Measure Summary, House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment" → Read the Source
Oregon Legislature, "ORS Chapter 459 (459.993 Penalties for violation of ORS 459A.757)" → Read the Source
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, "Checkout Bags" → Read the Source
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, "Impacts of HB 2509 (2019) Prohibitions on Checkout Bags: Report to the Legislature" (August 2025) → Read the Source
KXL, "Governor Kotek Signs Bill To Expand Oregon Plastic Bag Ban" → Read the Source
OPB, "Oregon lawmakers vote to expand the state's plastic bag ban" → Read the Source