The bill amends existing law (RCW 70A.530.020) and creates a new procedural requirement by establishing a "littering solutions" task force convened by the Department of Ecology to develop policy recommendations intended to ensure at least as much litter is collected annually as is deposited. The Department of Ecology may hire an independent facilitator, must consider the 2022 statewide litter study and specified litter problems and cleanup cost issues, and must provide a status update to legislative committees by January 15, 2027 and a final report with recommendations by November 15, 2027. The bill also revises retail carryout bag rules, updating prohibitions, definitions, labeling, composition and performance requirements, and the schedule of pass-through charges and a new penalty for certain reusable film plastic bags. Beginning January 1, 2021 retail establishments may not provide single-use plastic carryout bags or noncompliant paper or film reusable bags; until December 31, 2025 retailers must collect an 8-cent pass-through charge for qualifying bags, and beginning January 1, 2026 the charge is 12 cents for reusable film bags and 8 cents for compliant paper bags. Retailers must show pass-through charges and penalties on receipts, retain pass-through revenue (but not the penalty), and the 4-cent penalty for certain film bags is deposited into the waste reduction, recycling, and litter control account (RCW 70A.200.140). An inventory exception allows sale or provision of some existing bags through June 11, 2021 with documentation. The bill specifies technical definitions and standards: compliant paper bags must meet minimum recycled or nonwood renewable fiber content, be capable of composting consistent with ASTM D6868 (as of January 1, 2020), and display content percentage; reusable bags must meet a minimum lifetime and washing/durability criteria and film reusable bags must meet phased recycled content and labeling and minimum thickness requirements. It references chapter 70A.455 RCW for compostable and noncompostable film bag requirements. The text includes conditional future provisions (for example a potential prohibition beginning January 1, 2028 tied to legislative action consistent with RCW 70A.530.060) and contains parenthetical/struck text affecting the timeline for thickness requirements; the exact final thickness schedule and the content of RCW 70A.530.060 and related implementation details are not included in the extracted facts, and the process for selecting task force members from listed entities is not specified.

If enacted, the Department of Ecology must organize and run a littering solutions task force, hire a facilitator if needed, and deliver a status update by January 15, 2027 and a final recommendations report by November 15, 2027 aimed at ensuring Washington collects at least as much litter as is deposited. For consumers and retailers, the law tightens what bags stores can give out: since January 1, 2021 single-use plastic bags and noncompliant paper or thin film reusable bags are barred, compliant paper bags must meet a 40% recycled/nonwood-fiber and compostability standard, and film reusable bags must meet a recycled-content ramp-up (20% until July 1, 2022, then 40%). Retailers must charge customers a listed pass-through fee (8¢ per bag through 2025; from 2026, 12¢ for film reusable bags and 8¢ for compliant paper), show charges and any 4¢ penalty on receipts, keep the pass-through revenue (the penalty is deposited into the state waste reduction, recycling, and litter control account), and treat the pass-through charge as a taxable retail sale. Food banks and some small in-store bags are excluded, stores could sell existing inventory until June 11, 2021, and a conditional ban on thin film bags could take effect January 1, 2028 depending on the 2026 legislature. The groups most affected are the Department of Ecology (new convening and reporting duties), retail establishments (must alter bag inventories, collect and display new charges, comply with labeling and material rules, and handle a new taxable line item), and bag manufacturers (must meet recycled-content and compostability requirements or face market limits). Counties and several state agencies are pulled into the task force and its recommendations, and penalties directed to the waste reduction account will modestly increase that funding source. Key implementation details are unclear from the provided text—specifically the final thickness timeline for film bags, the content of RCW 70A.530.060 that triggers the 2028 provision, and the exact process for selecting task force members—so those could affect how some responsibilities and compliance rules play out.