Free Republic

California, a state known for its onerous regulations caused by left-wing policies, has approved legislation to ban stores from providing those helpful little plastic bags that consumers commonly use to store produce while shopping at the supermarket. The new rule is slated to go into effect on January 1, 2025, but even after it takes hold, stores will still be allowed to offer compostable bags and recycled paper bags, according to the bill. The text of the bill states that "a 'precheckout bag' means a bag provided to a customer before the customer reaches the point of sale, that is...

The board of supervisors in Fairfax County, Va., voted Tuesday to impose a 5-cent tax on plastic bags used at grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores. The measure, passed in a 9-1 vote, takes effect Jan. 1. The new tax will not apply in certain situations, such as bags used for dry cleaning, prescription drugs, garbage, pet waste and leaf removal. Revenue raised by the tax will help fund environmental cleanup and litter mitigation programs in the state.

DENVER (KDVR) — Single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam takeout containers will eventually be a thing of the past in Colorado after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill to phase them out. The Plastic Pollution Reduction Act goes into full effect in 2024. Polis signed the law on Tuesday after Colorado Democrats passed the bill without any Republican support. The measure also repeals a pre-emptive law that bars local governments from passing stronger plastics restrictions than the state’s.

Maryland lawmakers advanced a bill Monday that would prohibit stores from providing plastic bags to customers starting July 2022. An iteration of this legislation passed the House and was voted out of the Senate Finance Committee last year, but it did not reach the Senate floor due to the abbreviated legislative session. With an amendment from Del. Brian Crosby (D-St. Mary’s) that would allow orchard farmers to provide plastic bags to customers for its fruits and vegetables, the Plastic Bag Reduction Act, sponsored by Del. Brooke Lierman (D-Baltimore City) and Sen. Malcom Augustine (D-Prince George’s), moved out of the House...

"All trends are going in the wrong direction" The premier of Canada's most populous province speaking today announcing tightened restrictions in three areas (Toronto, Ottawa, Peel). Doug Ford warning of "an alarming rate" of growth in COVID-19 cases..... "The data speak for themselves, we had a superspreader event in the White House, and it was a situation where people were crowded together and not wearing masks" That's what Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News...... The commission on those presidential debates cancelling next Wednesday's planned debate amid disagreement..... The President taking his campaign for re-election onto The Rush Limbaugh Show.... Twitter...

Paper or plastic? In New Jersey, try neither. The state Legislature on Thursday voted to make New Jersey the first in the country to ban single-use paper bags in supermarkets along with all single-use plastic bags in stores and restaurants. Eight other states, including California, New York and Vermont, have bans on single-use plastic bags either in effect now or scheduled to go into effect in the coming years. But by banning both plastic and paper single-use bags, as well as disposable food containers and cups made out of polystyrene foam, environmental advocates said the New Jersey bill is among...

California backtracks on plastic bag ban; Gov. Gavin Newsom suspends 10-cent charge And isn't it ironic, don't you think?Progressive California has warned about the dangers of single-use plastic bags for years and lectured on how everyone needs to use reusable bags. In an ironic twist, the government of California is now warning about the dangers of reusable bags and encouraging everyone in the state to use plastic bags. In 2007, San Francisco became the first large city in the U.S. to ban single-use plastic bags. On March 31, San Francisco reversed its plastic bag ban because of the COVID-19 outbreak....

San Francisco is banning reusable shopping bags to prevent outside germs from entering grocery stores as the coronavirus pandemic affects cities around the country, The new ordinance from the San Francisco Department of Public Health aims to reinforce existing social distancing protocols by restricting customers from bringing their own bags, mugs, or other reusable items to essential stores, according to a statement. San Francisco was one of the first cities in the U.S. to ban the use of plastic shopping bags in 2007 to reduce the environmental impact caused by plastic waste, according to SFGate.com. San Francisco Mayor London Breed...

Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday announced a new public health order related to grocery stores and pharmacies in Massachusetts, which includes a temporary ban on reusable bags. "From now on, reusable bags are prohibited and all regulations on plastic bag bans are lifted," he said. The order also prohibits stores from charging for paper and plastic bags while the order is in place. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh had previously announced the same measures in the city.

Here’s where you can stuff your plastic-bag ban. New Yorkers were forced to begin grappling with a new shopping reality Sunday as the state’s ban on plastic shopping bags kicked in — and not many people were happy about it. “I think it’s ridiculous,” letter-carrier Scott Kimmel, 56, said while shopping at the Whitestone Target in College Point, Queens. “I understand about ‘conserve, take care of the environment,’ but c’mon!” About half the shoppers seen by The Post on the first day of the bag ban, including Kimmel, were compensating by bringing their own bags from home, while another quarter...

Why do politicians want to take away our plastic bags and straws? This moral panic is intensifying even as evidence mounts that banning plastic is both a waste of money and harmful to the environment. If you want to protect dolphins and sea turtles, you should take special care to place your plastic in the trash, not the recycling bin. And if you’re worried about climate change, you’ll cherish those gossamer grocery bags once you learn the facts about plastic. During the 1970s, environmentalists wanted to restrict the use of plastic because it was made from petroleum. When the “energy...

What do you do when your community faces crushing poverty, failing schools, and disturbing homicide rates? In Baltimore, the answer is: Ban plastic bags, of course. Yes, Charm City is saving the world, one plastic bag at a time. The Baltimore City Council passed a citywide ban on retailers’ use of plastic bags at checkout on a 13-to-1 vote Monday. If that weren’t enough, the city will now put a 5-cent charge on paper bags. The legislation now awaits signature by Mayor Bernard Young. If he signs it, it wouldn’t take effect until late next year. Councilwoman Danielle McCray was...

German Development Minister Gerd Müller has called for a ban on plastic bags in Germany, in part to reduce the exports of waste to developing countries. “The ban on plastic straws is not enough,” Müller told the Augsburger Allgemeine. “Germany should not wait for Europe and should immediately ban disposable plastic bags.” The CSU politician noted that some African countries had already banned plastic bags, “We must do what Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda have done.” […] Plastic waste in the sea is set to increase tenfold and with current trends, by 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Four Albuquerque City Councilors are pushing to limit the use of plastic bags, straws and foam containers in the state’s largest city. Councilors Isaac Benton, Cynthia Borrego, Pat Davis and Diane Gibson, all Democrats, will tonight introduce the Albuquerque Clean & Green Retail Ordinance in an effort to “protect and enhance the city’s unique and precious environment, wildlife and beauty through the reduction of single-use non-compostable or non-recyclable bags, straws and containers and to encourage the use of reusable or sustainable options.” The law would prohibit retailers from providing customers single-use plastic bags or foam containers for...

LOWELL -- Paper or reusable? That's the question you'll be asked in Lowell supermarkets later this week when the plastic bag ban goes into effect. On Jan. 1, the Mill City will join a rising number of Massachusetts communities banning single-use plastic bags, including Boston most notably in mid-December. Westford's ban also goes into effect on Jan. 1. The Lowell City Council voted in May to approve the ordinance. The city ban is limited to retail establishments 3,000 square feet or larger. The Market Basket at the corner of Fletcher and Broadway streets now has signs in the checkout line...

Here are a few things that are effectively legal in San Francisco: drugs, public defecation and shoplifting. And here are some of the things that are banned or will be banned in the City by the Bay. Straws. Fur coats. Bottled water. Eating at work. Vaping liquids. Upholstered furniture. Plastic bags. Pet stores. Electric scooters. Coffee cups and packing peanuts. Tropical fish. The McDonald’s Happy Meal. If you can think of something, San Francisco has already banned it. Or will be banning it soon. North Korea with a tech industry and some leftover Victorian architecture (which it’s banning tour buses...

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled against the city of Laredo's ban on plastic bags, and Austin's could be next. The Laredo Merchants Association brought a lawsuit against the city arguing that a state law on solid waste overrides the ban. Laredo passed the ordinance in 2014 banning plastic bags to cut down on the amount of waste in landfills and city streets. The city tried to argue that the bags did not fall under the definition of what the state considers a "container or package," but the Supreme Court decided it did. The Supreme Court ruled that the appeals...

Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to ban single-use plastic bags, though he previously blocked a 2017 plan to charge New York City shoppers 5-cents for paper and plastic bags at stores. He introduced a bill Monday that would ban plastic carryout bags from any point of sale in the state. Garment bags, trash bags and bags used to wrap food such as fruit and sliced meats would be exempt from the bill. If passed, it would go into effect on New Year's Day of 2019.

In recent weeks, more towns have joined the more than 60 Massachusetts communities that have municipal taxes or bans on single-use plastic shopping bags. On Beacon Hill, a plastic bag ban bill is slowly working its way through the legislative process. Advocates of the bans point to multitudes of the discarded bags strewn about on city streets, in trees, storm drains and in the oceans, where they threaten fish and birds. They talk about the bags being made from dirty crude oil. Progressive elected officials in cities and towns will always vote for laws and ordinances that provide the euphoric...

Gov. Cuomo said he’s considering backing a statewide ban on plastic bags to help curb unnecessary trash — a day after Mayor de Blasio proposed such a restriction for New York City. “It’s clear that we need to address the real environmental concerns caused by the proliferation of plastic ‎bags, and a ban is one of the options we’re reviewing,” Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said. Not so fast, said one influential state lawmaker. “The first step is that they should enforce what’s on the books,” said Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who led a successful fight against the city imposing a...