Digital News Report – California may become the first state to ban plastic bags that are used at grocery stores at the checkout. The state assembly has approved the plastic bag ban, and now the state senate will have to vote on the issue. Gov. Schwarzenegger publicly applauded the state assembly’s approval of this plastic bag ban. Some cities such as San Francisco and Malibu, have already enacted plastic bag bans when shopping in their cities to help reduce the amount of waste created from these one time use bags.
Instead of plastic bags, grocery stores will be able to sell you a paper bag for 5 cents each, that is if the new statewide legislation goes through. So that should motivate the thrifty folks into bringing their own reusable bags. It can be done, but doesn’t get used as much as it could, that is why the ban and pay for paper bags law might prompt a different mind set. People are used to having the stores provide the bags for the groceries and such and don’t think about it.
The estimates are staggering, currently there are 19 billion plastic bags used every year in the state of California. Most of these bags never get reused and end up in the trash or possible at the recycling centers.
If the Plastic bag Ban goes through for the state of California retailers would stop using plastic and selling paper bags at the beginning of 2012.
By: Victoria Brown