Plastic, Paper Included in Bag Ban Approved by Dallas Council

Beginning Jan. 1, 2015, grocery stores and retailers in the city of Dallas will start charging customers five cents for every paper and plastic bag they use. The city council narrowly approved the partial ban on single-use carryout bags Wednesday morning.

The law bans the bags at all city facilities, events, or properties. In addition, it requires retailers to charge customers an environmental fee of five cents per bag. The proposal to give businesses the alternative to charge $1 per transaction was scrapped.