Save The Plastic Bag

WE ALREADY HAVE A GOOD LAW

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.

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 requiring consumers to pay a fee for plastic bags.

AB 2449 is an excellent law. It maintains freedom of choice for consumers and retailers while promoting recycling and reusable bags. It needs to be given a chance to work.

THE PROPOSAL TO IMPOSE A NEW SHOPPING TAX

In February 2008, an anti-plastic bag bill (Assembly Bill No. 2058) was introduced by Assembly Member Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys). Heal the Bay and Californians Against Waste were sponsors of AB 2058.

PLASTIC BAGS: AB 2058 would have required large supermarkets and drug stores to "divert" the number of plastic carryout bags by 70% by July 2011. "Divert" means reduce or recycle. If they failed to achieve that goal, they would have been prohibited from providing any plastic carryout bags to customers unless they charged a 25 cent tax for each plastic bag.

PAPER BAGS: AB 2058 contained no restrictions whatsoever regarding paper bags. Supermarkets would have been ermitted to hand out free paper bags instead of free plastic bags. Paper bags were treated as environmentally benign.

STATUS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2058

The California Legislature consists of two houses: the Assembly and the Senate.

In order to become law, a bill must be approved by both houses and then signed by the Governor.

In May 2008, AB 2058 was approved by the Assembly. It then moved to the Senate. The Senate Environment Committee approved the bill in June 2008.

The bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee and failed to pass. The Senate wisely decided that the bill had no merit and that consumers should not be subjected to a tax on shopping.