Duluth Adopts 5-Cent Plastic Bag Fee

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Duluth City Council passed a 5-cent fee for plastic bags at stores Monday night.

The move comes just days after Minneapolis passed a similar ordinance.

Under the policy, the fee would go to the stores. Supporters of the ordinance cited concerns with plastic litter and pollution, especially in the city’s waterways.

But some meeting attendees did bring up concerns with how the ordinance would affect low-income residents.

The ordinance does include exceptions for  individuals using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, programs to pay for some or all of their purchase.

The council passed the ordinance in a 6-2 vote.