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Delaware Prepares to Restrict Plastic Bags

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DOVER, Del. (AP) - The state House is set to vote on a bill that largely prohibits retailers in Delaware from providing single-use carryout plastic bags to customers.

The bill to be voted on Tuesday is aimed at cutting down on the amount of plastic bags cluttering landfills, littering roadways and clogging stormwater systems.

The bill applies to stores with more than 7,000 square feet of sales space, and chain stores with three or more locations having at least 3,000 square feet of sales space.

Restaurants are excluded from the bag ban, which also allows exceptions for bags used to wrap meat, fish, flowers or plants, or that contain unwrapped food items. You could also still carry a goldfish home from a pet store, or your laundry from the dry cleaners, in plastic bags.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.