An Act to Amend the Law Banning Single-use Carry-out Bags
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1122
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: WARREN
Amends: 38 MRSA §1611

Legislative Document
No. 1122
H.P. 741
House of Representatives, March 18, 2025
An Act to Amend the Law Banning Single-use Carry-out Bags
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative WARREN of Scarborough.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BELL of Yarmouth, OSHER of Orono.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶A-1 is enacted to read:
A-1.  "Carry-out bag" means a bag provided to a customer by a retail establishment for 
transporting merchandise purchased by the customer away from the retail 
establishment or for packaging, protecting or otherwise containing merchandise within 
the retail establishment.  "Carry-out bag" includes a single-use carry-out bag, a 
recycled paper carry-out bag, a reusable fabric carry-out bag and a reusable plastic 
carry-out bag.
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 346, §2, is 
amended to read:
B.  "Point of sale" means a location where merchandise purchased by a customer is 
transferred to the customer, including, but not limited to, a check‑out stand, cash 
register, self-service check-out kiosk or other point of departure from a retail 
establishment, including an in-store or curbside pickup location, and any other location, 
including the customer's home, at which the purchased merchandise is delivered or 
otherwise transferred to the customer.
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 346, §2, is 
amended to read:
C.  "Post-consumer recycled material fiber" means a recycled material fiber that, if not 
recycled, would otherwise have been destined for solid waste disposal, having 
completed its intended end use and product life cycle.  "Post-consumer recycled 
material fiber" does not include materials fibers and by-products generated from, and 
commonly reused in, an original manufacturing and fabrication process.
Sec. 4.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 346, §2, is 
amended to read:
D.  "Recycled paper carry-out bag" means a paper carry-out bag made of paper that:
(1)  Is 100% recyclable; and
(2)  Contains at least 20% 40% post-consumer recycled material if it has a capacity 
to hold at least 8 pounds fiber, at least 40% nonwood renewable fiber or a 
combination of post-consumer recycled fiber and nonwood renewable fiber that 
comprises at least 40% of the fiber from which the bag is made.
Sec. 5.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶G, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 346, §2, is 
repealed.
Sec. 6.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶G-1 is enacted to read:
G-1.  "Reusable fabric carry-out bag" means a carry-out bag that:
(1)  Has sewn or stitched handles;
(2)  Is made from cloth, fabric, hemp or other fiber, whether woven or nonwoven, 
and is not made from plastic;
(3)  Is machine washable and machine dryable or has the capability of being 
cleaned and disinfected regularly;
(4)  Is specifically designed and manufactured for reuse multiple times and to 
withstand a minimum of 125 repeated uses; and
(5)  Has the capability of carrying a minimum weight of 18 pounds over a minimum 
distance of 300 feet.
Sec. 7.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶G-2 is enacted to read:
G-2.  "Reusable plastic carry-out bag" means a carry-out bag that:
(1)  Has sewn or stitched handles;
(2)  Is made wholly or partially of plastic fiber, whether woven or nonwoven, and 
is not made of plastic film of any thickness;
(3)  Is machine washable and machine dryable or has the capability of being 
cleaned and disinfected regularly;
(4)  Is specifically designed and manufactured for reuse multiple times and to 
withstand a minimum of 125 repeated uses; and
(5)  Has the capability of carrying a minimum weight of 18 pounds over a minimum 
distance of 300 feet.
Sec. 8.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§1, ¶H, as amended by PL 2019, c. 674, §1, is further 
amended to read:
H.  "Single-use carry-out bag" means a carry-out bag that is made of plastic, paper or 
other material provided by a retail establishment within the retail establishment for the 
purpose of transporting merchandise away from the retail establishment or for 
packaging, protecting or otherwise containing merchandise within the retail 
establishment specifically designed and manufactured for single use and that is not a 
recycled paper carry-out bag or, a reusable fabric carry-out bag or a reusable plastic 
carry-out bag.
Sec. 9.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 346, §2, is 
amended to read:
A.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, beginning April 22, 2020, a retail 
establishment may not provide a single-use carry-out bag to a customer at the point of 
sale or otherwise make single-use carry-out bags available to customers.
Sec. 10.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§2, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 346, §2, is further 
amended by amending subparagraph (2) to read:
(2)  Bags without handles used to protect items from being damaged or from 
damaging or contaminating other purchased items placed in a recycled paper carry-
out bag or, a reusable fabric carry-out bag or a reusable plastic carry-out bag;
Sec. 11.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c. 186, §18, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Recycled paper carry-out bag fees and reusable plastic carry-out bag fees; 
exemptions.  This subsection governs fees assessed on recycled paper carry-out bags and 
on reusable plastic carry-out bags made of plastic.
A.  Beginning January 15, 2021 a A retail establishment may provide a recycled paper 
carry-out bag or a reusable plastic carry-out bag made of plastic to bag products at the 
point of sale as long as the retail establishment charges a fee of at least 5¢ 10¢ per bag.
(1)  All amounts collected pursuant to this paragraph are retained by the retail 
establishment and may be used for any lawful purpose.
(2)  A retail establishment may not rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer any 
portion of the fee charged pursuant to this paragraph.
B.  The requirement to charge a fee under paragraph A does not apply to:
(1)  Stores at which less than 2% of retail sales are attributed to the sale of food 
and that have less than 10,000 square feet of retail area;
(2)  Restaurants; or
(3)  Hunger relief organizations engaged in distributing food directly to consumers 
at no charge.
A retail establishment exempt from charging a fee under this paragraph may charge a 
fee for a recycled paper carry-out bag or a reusable plastic carry-out bag made of 
plastic.
Sec. 12.  38 MRSA §1611, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2019, c. 617, Pt. J, §2, is 
further amended to read:
5.  Preemption.  To ensure maximum effectiveness through uniform statewide 
application, the State intends to occupy the whole field of regulation of single-use carry-
out bags at retail establishments beginning March 17, 2020.  A local government may not 
adopt an ordinance regulating single-use carry-out bags at retail establishments, and, 
beginning January 15, 2021, any ordinance or regulation that violates this subsection is 
void and has no force or effect.
Sec. 13.  Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the law banning the use of single-use plastic carry-out bags at retail 
establishments to clarify the scope of that law by incorporating new definitions for 
"recycled paper carry-out bag," "reusable fabric carry-out bag" and "reusable plastic carry-
out bag."  It also amends related definitions and makes other associated technical changes, 
including amending the definition of "point of sale" to provide that the law's prohibitions 
and other provisions apply to bags provided to a customer at self-service check-out kiosks, 
at in-store or curbside pickup locations and at any other location, including a customer's 
home, at which purchased merchandise is delivered or otherwise transferred to the 
customer.
The bill also increases from 5 cents to 10 cents the fee that a retail establishment must 
charge for each recycled paper carry-out bag or reusable plastic carry-out bag used to bag 
products at the point of sale.
These changes to the law banning the use of single-use plastic carry-out bags at retail 
establishments are effective January 1, 2026.