(a)  “Plastic bag” means a polyethylene bag, other than one used for food products weighing not more than five (5) pounds, intended for household use or for packaging articles intended for household use, which is larger than five inches (5?) in diameter at the opened end, and is made of thin film less than one mil (0.001 inch) in thickness (according to standards established under the commodity standards division of the United States Department of Commerce).

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 11-9-16

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Person: means any individual person, firm, fiduciary, partnership, trust, association, or corporation licensed as a retail dealer to sell tobacco products within the state. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-9-13.4
  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8

(b)  No person shall package, deliver or sell any article for use in or around the household in a plastic bag, or shall sell or distribute any plastic bag for use in or around the household, unless the bag bears a warning against the hazard of suffocation by children in the following or substantially equivalent wording:

“Keep from children — may cause suffocation”

“WARNING: Keep this bag away from babies and children. Do not use in cribs, beds, carriages, or playpens. The thin film may cling to nose and mouth and prevent breathing.”

(c)  The warning shall be printed on, attached to, or accompany each bag; provided, that it shall be permissible to print the warning on the outside wrapper of packages of bags intended only for home processing use, such as freezer bags and garbage disposal bags, in lieu of on each individual bag. The warning shall be conspicuously displayed in bold face type, in accordance with the following table:

Total of the length and width of the bag, combined Font Size
60 inches or more ………………………………….. 24 points
40 inches, but less than 60 inches ………………………………….. 18 points
30 inches, but less than 40 inches ………………………………….. 14 points
Less than 30 inches ………………………………….. 10 points

(d)  Any person who shall violate the provisions of this section shall upon conviction be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100).

History of Section.
P.L. 1959, ch. 82, § 1; P.L. 1960, ch. 171, § 1.