Environmental advocates (and a giant inflatable sea turtle) joined the two lawmakers behind a pair of bills to ban plastic bags at grocery stores in a rally Tuesday to urge their approval and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.
Plastic waste in California has only increased in the years since lawmakers approved — and voters opted to keep — a ban on single-use plastic film bags at grocery stores. Advocates say while well-intentioned, the law led retailers to ditch the thin bags for thicker bags marketed as reusable and recyclable.
“We have 50% more plastic bag waste than we had before the ban,” said Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, the author of one of the bills.
Advocates say the increase in plastic bag waste is clogging local waterways, harming marine wildlife and increasing the amount of microplastics in the environment.
“Plastic bag pollution is devastating to the ocean, especially to some of our most iconic megafauna, like turtles and seabirds,” said Jennifer Fearing, speaking on behalf of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Ocean Conservancy. “These plastic bags generate pollution throughout their life cycle — from greenhouse gas emissions to toxic chemicals to microplastics — all of which create invisible but no less impactful harms to our communities and the environment.”
If approved, the bill would apply to large grocery stores including Target and Walmart.
“These are the two bag options that you will have at the grocery store after these two bills go into effect,” Blakespear said, holding up a reusable canvas tote bag in one hand and a rectangular brown paper bag in the other.
Unlike California’s first foray into outlawing plastic bags statewide, this version has support from the California Grocers Association. It still faces opposition from the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, which represents plastic bag manufacturers.
“This legislation will not reduce plastic use but merely substitute one form of plastic for another,” the alliance said in a statement included in a recent analysis of the bill.
The bills, AB 2236 and SB 1053, are on the Senate and Assembly floors, respectively.
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