California Assembly Bill No. 2449 ( AB 2449) became law and took effect in July 2007.
Under the terms of the law, more than 7,000 retail stores in California were required to install and prominently display plastic bag recycling bins. They have completed the task. You can now take your used plastic bags to any of these stores for recycling. This includes grocery bags, produce bags, newspaper bags, and dry cleaning bags.
Virtually all of the bags placed in these recycling bins are actually recycled into new products. The principal recyclers are TREX and AERT which use the discarded bags to make plastic or composite lumber. The law also requires each of the 7,000 stores to make reusable bags available for customers to purchase.
The law prohibits any county or city from passing an ordinance banning plastic bags or requiring consumers to pay a fee for plastic bags prior to 2013.
AB 2449 is an excellent law. It needs to be given a chance to work.
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