Five US state rules that took effect in 2026, and what they mean for a printed bag
Washington changed its bag fees, Illinois and Maine restricted PFAS in food packaging, New York widened its foam ban. A short checklist for anyone importing printed bags into the US.
Most of the regulatory movement in the United States this year happened at state level, and several changes landed on 1 January 2026. For bag importers the relevant ones are about fees, chemistry and material bans rather than about bags as such — but they decide what can be printed on a bag and what it may be made of.
Washington: the fee moved
Washington banned single-use plastic carryout bags in 2021 and adjusted the economics this year. Retailers and restaurants must now charge 12 cents for plastic film carryout bags; the charge for paper bags, which must contain at least 40% post-consumer recycled content or wheat straw, stays at 8 cents. Reusable plastic film bags must still be at least 2.25 mil thick, and the planned increase to 4 mil has been pushed back to 1 January 2028. Where a retailer already distributes bags of 4 mil or more, an additional 4 cent charge applies through the end of 2027.
Illinois and Maine: PFAS in food packaging
Illinois has prohibited the sale or distribution of food packaging containing intentionally added PFAS since 1 January 2026, and the scope covers components such as exterior strapping, coatings, closures, inks and labels. Maine's restriction on PFAS in plant fibre-derived food packaging — paper and paperboard bags, sleeves, wraps, liners and similar — takes effect on 25 May 2026, with wider restrictions following in 2032.
New York: foam, widened
New York's polystyrene foam restrictions, in place since 2022 for packing peanuts and disposable food service containers, were extended on 1 January 2026 to cold storage containers such as coolers and ice chests.
What this means for a printed bag
For a bag that touches food — bakery, takeaway, grocery — the chemistry of the ink and the coating is now a documented question, not a preference. For a bag that does not touch food, the practical exposure is smaller, but two habits are worth adopting anyway:
- Ask the printer for a PFAS-free declaration covering inks, adhesives and any laminated film, and keep it with the order file.
- Keep material and print specifications per SKU, so that a change of substrate or ink can be traced to a shipment date rather than to memory.
We produce both PFAS-free paper-look finishing and conventional print, and we will tell you which is which rather than let the catalogue decide.
Sources: Packaging Dive, "Packaging laws taking effect in 2026", 5 January 2026 — packagingdive.com.