Posted on 05/28/2010 3:56:00 PM PDT by KingofZion
Legislation that would ban many California stores from giving away single-use plastic bags has taken a step closer to becoming law. AB 1998 was passed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday and will be voted upon next Friday by the full Assembly. If passed and signed by the governor, the law would go into effect Jan. 1, 2012.
Each year, Californians use 19 billion plastic bags, only 5% of which are recycled, according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The average California resident uses 600 plastic bags per year.
"This legislation starts breaking our addiction to single-use plastic packaging, which has gotten completely out of control," said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental group supporting AB 1998.
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Over the past couple of years, numerous California cities have proposed plastic-bag bans; five cities have passed them, including Malibu and San Francisco.
Uniformity is the main reason the California Grocers Assn. is supporting the bill.
"There have been a number of different proposals and different cities have approached this in different ways," said Dave Heylen, spokesman for the California Grocers Assn. in Sacramento, a group that represents 500 retail grocery companies that operate 8,000 stores in California. "This bill would impact supermarkets, chain pharmacies, local neighborhood markets, convenience stores and liquor stores, so this bill provides a uniform statewide standard to help level the playing field among food retailers."
Heylen added that single-use, carry-out bags bring the most environmental gain with the least competitive disruption for retailers.
"We think this could be historic legislation that is a model for other states to follow," said Gina Goodhill, oceans advocate for the L.A.-based environmental group, Environment California.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
conservationists can stick their bag law up their ass!!!
notice how that superbowl commericial is not shown any more?
Mexican samsonite. Don’t let them go home without it.”
Thank you —you made my day.
Just in time, before the end of the world.
They are a key element of my travel kit.
What are the cleaners supposed to put over clothes?
Well, doesn’t that beat all? The state is falling apart financially and the legislators are worried about plastic bags.
It is one strange, strange state.
I use 600 bags a year just for my dog walks!!
I always thought the big brown paper bags were better anyway. You could stack box items neater and they fit in the truck of the car better.
(smile) Happy to help!
It’s good to know our government is hard at work protecting us.
The main reason I hate these bags is that they don't even work for the purpose they are designed for, i.e., carrying groceries. A bag with anything slightly heavy will put painful stress on your fingers. Just try carrying a bag containing three glass jars of pickles. You will have at least one broken jar by the time you get it in the house, that is, if the bag doesn't break at either the handle or the seam, in which case you will have three broken jars of pickles. Another thing is that stuff doesn't stay in the bags when you put them down in the car. Cans and grapefruit and small objects escape and roll under the seats, unless you tie off the handles, in which case you then have to cut the bag open, rendering it useless for any other reuse.
I could go on and on. There are countless reasons to hate these bags. They are good for only one thing: Landfill.
That means Pelosi is out of a job.
yes you are.
The free market would have taken care of the issue by improving the bag if it was such a big deal.
Good question!
I really, really hate this. I use several grocery store bags a weel to clean out the litter box and many, many people use them to pick up after their dogs.
So, now we will have to buy “especially manufactured” pet poop plastic bags for that purpose. They never think anything through.
You know, that was my question/comment also. I’m sure the illegal aliens will be allowed to continue having plastic bags — the ones they have tossed everywhere in our southern desert, choking cattle and wildlife. But it wouldn’t be fair of us to take away THEIR plastic....
weel = week
Yep, taking away plastic bags=racism against illegals. What are they supposed to bring their luggage into the US with?
Just pick the cat turds up with your hands.
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