The Dalles Chronicle
TheDallesChronicle.com
Single-use bag ban
now enforced statewide
Retailers now
required to charge
for paper or reusable
bags at checkout
Oregon restaurants and
retail stores — including gro-
cery stores — are no longer
allowed to provide single-use
checkout bags. Reusable
paper, plastic and fabric
bags can still be provided,
but retailers are required to
charge at least 5 cents per bag
(restaurants may still provide
paper bags at no cost).
While the City of Hood
River has banned stores
from providing single use
plastic bags at checkout since
2017, the state law (House
Bill 2509) preempts the local
ordinance, and establishes
the bag ban statewide.
House Bill 2509 was passed
during the legislative session
in April, 2019, and went into
full effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
“By encouraging the switch
to reusable or recycled paper
bags, Oregon can reduce the
amount of bags that are used
once and thrown out, while
also addressing a significant
problem for Oregon’s recy-
cling programs: Plastic bags,”
reads an official statement on
Oregon.gov.
“When plastic bags end up
in recycling bins, they can
contaminate the recycling
stream and endanger the
safety of workers, who must
untangle them from recycling
equipment. This is also a
positive first step toward ad-
dressing the large amount of
plastic debris in the oceans,
which threatens Oregon’s
marine wildlife.”
Customers who do not
bring reusable bags should
expect to pay a small fee at
the register if they want to use
bags provided by the store.
While single-use checkout
bags are banned completely,
stores may provide plastic,
fabric and paper bags so long
as they meet certain criteria:
Paper bags are required to be
made of at least 40 percent
recycled fiber, and both plas-
tic and fabric bags have to
have handles and should be
designed and manufactured
for multiple uses (plastic bags
must be “made of dura-
ble plastic that is at least 4
millimeters thick” and fabric
bags must be “made of cloth
or other machine-washable
fabric.”)
While the law mandates
a minimum price of five
minutes per bag, the fee can
vary between stores, cities
and counties, and the money
collected goes to the retailer.
The fee is intended to help
offset the costs businesses
pay to purchase sustainable,
reusable bags.
Some bags, such as those
for bulk items and privacy
purposes, are not subject to
the ban. Retail stores and
restaurants may provide
certain reusable bags for free
to customers using a WIC
voucher or electronic bene-
fits transfer card. Bags sold
in packages for uses such as
food storage, garbage or pet
waste are also allowed.
The ban is to be enforced
by local law enforcement,
and violations fall into Class
D, which means a maximum
fine of $250 per day.
By Sept. 15, 2024, grocers
are required to provide
the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) with information on
collection of bag fees and
customers’ usage of recycled
paper, reusable fabric and re-
usable plastic checkout bags;
and the DEQ must submit a
report on this information
to the legislature by Sept. 15,
2025.
For more information on
HB 2509, visit www.oregon.
gov/deq/mm/production/
Pages/Bags.aspx.
GOOD
Remodel creates
a jewel downtown
Continued from page A8
from Gorge Academy of
Cosmetology last spring. And
she is being choosy about
which professionals to bring
into the spa and salon. “This
space needs talented people,
the right energy. Kindness
needs be throughout it.”
Here is the current lineup:
Jellum offers esthetics
and lash extension; Ryan
Thompson, hair; Yolanda
Poland, full cosmetology;
Gayle Clark, nails; Matt
Nance, hair; and Amber
Thomas, Bowen massage.
And what about the name?
Beau Toi is French for
beautiful you. Jellum thought
it jibed well with our city
name, given by French Fur
trappers who first referred to
our area as Les dalles, mean-
ing The Slabs. It’s purportedly
an allusion to the rocks that
created rapids in this area
prior to dams being built.
At a Turning Point?
The spa and salon, located
next to Canton Wok, is just
the latest transformation.
Examples abound within
the downtown area. Copper
West Properties rebuilt The
Dalles Auto Electric Building;
Platinum Mortgage, the
former Don’s Cleaners &
Laundry; Lindsey and Tom
Giamei with their gift shop
The Workshop and trans-
formation of the American
Legion building; Travis and
Jen Dillard’s Loft Apartments
in the Honald building.
Beau Toi day spa & salon with Matthew Ryan, Nichole Jellum (own-
er), Yolanda Poland and Gayle Clark opened in October. It offers yet
another example of downtown building renovations occurring in
The Dalles.
Contributed photo
Todd Carpenter and Carla
McQuade with the Last Stop
Saloon. Investment is in the
millions of dollars as inves-
tors are betting on a good
return.
Market research reveals
that sales increase at smaller
retails after a remodel,
according to the American
Marketing Association
quoting a study by Australian
Monash University. In a small
independent retail store, the
sales increases in the year
after the remodeling were 43
percent for new customers
and 7 percent for existing
customers, it reported.
You have to wonder if the
same goes for restoration
efforts downtown—is the
current vote of investor con-
fidence triggering others to
come kick tires and or jump
in with new businesses or
restorations. Is this just the
beginning for The Dalles? Are
we headed for critical mass,
possible boomtown? Or is it
just a bubble?
Either way, Mareta Maier
said she like the direction
Jellum was taking with her
building, noting it is a sense
of pride for her.
“It was a fright when Aero
Print had big machines and
boxes all over the place,”
she said. “Nichole’s been a
bright spot down there. She’s
a jewel.”
For more information on
Beau Toi, call 541-851-7228.
This Holiday Season,
give someone you love the
GIFT of
HEALTH
Purchase a
$100 gift certifi cate
to give to someone
special for $25.
HOOD RIVER
1330 Brookside Dr | 541.386.3230
THE DALLES
731 Pomona St | 541.298.8508
Certifi cates may be used for enrollment fees or fi rst month’s dues. Not
valid for use by current members. Local address, proof of employment and
a 12-month agreement required to redeem. Must be redeemed by Jan 31,
2020. One certifi cate per new membership agreement allowed. May purchase
multiple certifi cates to gift. Not refundable. See club staff for complete details.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020 A9
