By: Elexis Wolis, Staff Member
On Tuesday, California Governor Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown signed into law Senate Bill 270, executing the nation’s first statewide prohibition against grocery stores providing single-use plastic bags as a way to address litter concerns. [i] "This bill is a step in the right direction -- it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself," Brown said. "We're the first to ban these bags, and we won't be the last." [ii]
According to the Los Angeles Times, the plastic bag ban spurred one of the fiercest and most propounding lobbying efforts this past year. [iii] The ban is aimed at grocery stores and pharmacies that dispense single-use plastic bags. But beginning on July 1, 2015, those businesses must offer paper and reusable bags at cost to the consumer. If consumers forget to bring their own bags, they are facing a charge of at least ten cents for a single-use paper bag. In July 2016, the ban is set to extend to smaller establishments such as convenience and liquor stores. [iv]
Senate Bill 270 is a triumph for environmentalists who advocated for the injunction on plastic bags. Consumers only use these single-use plastic bags for a matter of minutes when transporting their groceries from the store to their homes. They argue that the bags defile rivers and oceans, where the wildlife mistake the bags for food and suffer because of the litter. [v] Around 13 million plastic bags are distributed yearly in California, and they end up in landfills—and, regrettably, waterways where they don’t decompose for decades. [vi]
On the opposite side of the spectrum, plastic and paper bag manufacturers are opposed to the legislation, claiming it will result in lost jobs for Californians. [vii] Mark Daniels, Chairman of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, and Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Policy at Hilex Poly, stated "[i]t's a transfer of wealth of hundreds of millions of dollars from Californians to the pockets of grocers and their union bosses." [viii] Daniels appraises that grocers will profit at least 5.5 cents from each paper bag they sell. "It's exporting 2,000 jobs from California to China where they manufacture the reusable bags," Daniels said in a phone interview. [ix]
Although, California has the first statewide law passed by the legislature banning the plastic bags, there are more than 125 local ordinances passed advocating the banning of plastic bags. [x] A study conducted by the National Center for Policy Analysis in 2012 concluded that every store affected by a Los Angeles County bag ban downsized their employees by ten percent. [xi]
Another report examining the possible health risks associated with reusing shopping bags published by the International Association for Food Protection in 2011, reported coliform bacteria in about fifty percent of the bags, and e.coli in about eight percent. [xii] The coliform bacteria came from a contamination of raw meat, and the e.coli present in the bags indicated fecal contamination. [xiii] The bags were collected from random consumers in California and Arizona. Shoppers seldom cleaned these bags, which resulted in “a breeding ground for bacteria.” [xiv]
Nevertheless, California State Senator Alejandro “Alex” Padilla has vowed to provide $2 million in loans to aid plastic-bag businesses convert their practices into manufacturing reusable bags. [xv] Also, California residents who qualify for food-assistance programs will be exempt from purchasing the bags. [xvi]
"History was made today, and our environment and economy will be better for it," said Ronald Fong, president of the California Grocers Association. [xvii]
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey could be next in waging a war on the plastic bag debate, except these states are vowing to impose a tax for plastic bags on consumers. [xviii]
[i] California Governor Signs Law to Ban Plastic Bags, http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/california-governor-signs-law-ban-plastic-bags-n214911, (September 30, 2014).
[ii] Id.
[iii] Id.
[iv] Melanie Mason, and Patrick McGreevey, Statewide ban on disposable plastic bags is signed into law by Brown, http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-brown-bills-20141001-story.html#page=1 (September 30, 2014).
[v] Melanie Mason, and Patrick McGreevey, Statewide ban on disposable plastic bags is signed into law by Brown, http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-brown-bills-20141001-story.html#page=1 (September 30, 2014).
[vi] Ben Rooney, California bans plastic grocery bags, http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/30/news/california-plastic-bag-ban/ (October 1, 2014).
[vii] California Governor Signs Law to Ban Plastic Bags, http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/california-governor-signs-law-ban-plastic-bags-n214911, (September 30, 2014).
[viii] Katie Little, How California’s Plastic bag ban could backfire, http://www.cnbc.com/id/102051083 (October 2, 2014).
[ix] Id.
[x] Melanie Mason, and Patrick McGreevey, Statewide ban on disposable plastic bags is signed into law by Brown, http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-brown-bills-20141001-story.html#page=1 (September 30, 2014).
[xi] Katie Little, How California’s Plastic bag ban could backfire, http://www.cnbc.com/id/102051083 (October 2, 2014).
[xii] Id.
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Id.
[xv] Melanie Mason, and Patrick McGreevey, Statewide ban on disposable plastic bags is signed into law by Brown, http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-brown-bills-20141001-story.html#page=1 (September 30, 2014).
[xvi] Ben Rooney, California bans plastic grocery bags, http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/30/news/california-plastic-bag-ban/ (October 1, 2014).
[xvii] Id.
[xviii] Id.