Jimmy Kimmel used Los Angeles' aggressive new plastic bag ban as fodder for a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week. more ›

L.A.'s proposed ban on single-use shopping bags was postponed by city lawmakers on Friday who have requested further studies be conducted on the ban's economic impact. The requested analysis will help the city determine if they will make the bold move of banning all single-use shopping bags or mirror bans enacted in other cities that ban single-use plastic bags but still offer single-use paper bags for a tiny fee. more ›

As part of the continued effort to ban single-use bags in Los Angeles, Heal the Bay has dubbed Thursday, December 15 "Day Without A Bag." The event is appropriately timed, as L.A. City Council is expected to move forward with a sweeping ban on single-use shopping bags next week. more ›

Shoppers, your 6-month grace period is over: Tomorrow begins a life of BYOBag for shoppers in Santa Monica, as the city's Single-Use Carryout Bag Ban goes into full enforcement September 1. Under the ban, all 1,900 Santa Monica retailers are prohibited from giving customers single-use plastic carryout bags. more ›

Today the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Manhattan Beach's plastic bag ban after much litigation regarding its passage. Save the Plastic Bag, an industry group of plastic bag manufacturers, opposed the 2008 City of Manhattan Beach plastic bag ban ordinance, claiming that paper bags would increase landfill volume and further threaten the environment. The Court of Appeal sided with the group, agreeing that the City should have conducted a full Environmental Impact Report. more ›

In an effort to reduce ocean pollution, SeaWorld in San Diego will stop giving out plastic bags at its theme-park gift stores on June 18. Park reps said "the move could save more than 1 million plastic bags from being used. They will offer customers paper and reusable sacks," reports the San Diego Union Tribune. more ›

Don't forget your reusable tote the next time you shop in Beverly Hills. The city is currently enlisting their City Attorney to review documents created by LA County that deal with such a ban, according to Beverly Hills Patch. The November vote approved a ban for unincorporated LA County*, however several local cities within the county are pursuing bans of their own. The site reports that the November vote was unambiguous: more ›

The city of Santa Monica has been moving towards a ban of single-use plastic bags, however the next steps in the process are a little less clear right now, thanks to the recent state-wide election, and in the wake of a bag ban approved this week for L.A. County, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. more ›

A state bill that sought to ban plastic and other single-use bags from supermarkets and other retailers in California failed to garner approval in a late-night Senate vote Tuesday evening. more ›

On the heels of a cute mockumentary in support of state legislation that would ban single-use plastic and other types of bags in most California stores, opponents have released their own advertisement. more ›

A state bill that would ban plastic and other single-use bags from supermarkets and some other types of stores is currently making its way through the California legislature. It has until August to clear both state houses and head to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk where he's expected to sign it. more ›

Despite the optimistic future for AB 1998, the statewide ban on plastic bags, Los Angeles County Supervisors are going ahead with efforts to pass their own ordinance. more ›

The plastic bag industry has stepped up in the fight against Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s ban on plastic bags, which is currently making its way through Sacramento. The American Chemical Council, whose members include prominent plastic bag manufactures, has sponsored a study to test the cleanliness of the reusable bags that will replace plastic bags, according to the Pasadena Star News. more ›

The Los Angeles City Council will decide Friday whether or not to officially support Santa Monica Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s ban on plastic bags. The resolution (.pdf) formally supports the bill under the stipulations that legislators consider amendments that keep in-store recycle programs open. more ›

With California on its way to being the first to implement a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags the key will be what to use instead. Californians have been creative with their plastic bags, using them for trash can liners, lunch boxes, travel laundry bags, dog poop dispensers, storage units, shower caps, and leftover containers. But with this ban, plastic bags might not be just lying around the house anymore, making the search for alternatives a pertinent one. more ›

The State Assembly passed the ban on single-use plastic bags yesterday in a 41-21 vote, and the reactions seem split as well. In hopes of gaining support for the State Senate decision expected to happen later this summer, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has released new data. They say that a recent study (.pdf) shows San Francisco... more ›

A bill that would ban plastic and other single-use bags from a variety of stores took a big step today. The California State Assembly approved AB 1998 in a 41-27 vote. Under the legislation, the ban will “eliminate single-use bag litter, which pollutes oceans, beaches, parks and communities and endanger wildlife”, according to the bill's author Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica). more ›

Assembly Bill 1998, which would ban single-use plastic bags, passed out of committee today and will now be taken to the Assembly floor for a vote. Santa Monica Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s bill prohibits any retail establishment that meets the definition of a “supermarket” from distributing plastic or paper single-use bags. more ›

The proposed statewide ban on plastic bags has until next Friday, June 4th to pass or the process starts all over again. Supporters are calling for a final push to secure AB 1998's survival, which will ban the use of plastic bags at grocery and retail stores. Many people feel that ban will directly result in marine protection in an area known as the Pacific Garbage Patch, which extends from Hawaii to San Francisco, containing exceptionally high numbers of plastic waste. more ›

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley is taking another shot at reducing plastic waste currently endangering marine life and littering our coast. Back in 2008 she introduced AB 68 that would have charged a 25-cent fee for every single-use plastic bag used in grocery stores and other retail outlets. But because of the costs to collect those fees -- in hopes of distributing them to education programs -- the bill never made it out committee. more ›

Orange County's Laguna Beach could be another Californian city to ban the use of plastic bags. Last night the City Council unanimously passed a motion that moves the discussion to the next level, reports the OC Register. Their environmental committee will now look further into the ban, which many believe "will help save both the environment and retailers' bottom lines." Council members want to be certain that local businesses have ample warning time, but also acknowledge the potential for area stores to absorb costs of the ban by selling reusable bags. more ›

Spotted yesterday at Green & Greener in Valley Village, the only general store dedicated to environmentally friendly products in Los Angeles (see our photo tour here). We've always hated going to grocery stores with our reusable bags only to have to use plastic ones for broccoli and lettuce. Problem solved, thank you BYO Bags. Three come in a package and they sell for $10.99. more ›

Since it's a Day Without a Bag today, here's a useful, creative and value added way to make your holiday gifts more environmentally hip. The bags in this video are from Baggu Bags. more ›

An estimated six billion plastic bags are used every year in LA County with the average Californian using 552 of them per year. That's a lot potential harm to the ecosystem, especially when not recycled. The plastic bag industry has made weak arguments to keep the environmentally unfriendly object around, even slapping lawsuits on cities who propose a ban (desperation?). more ›

Now that a their smoking ban will soon be in effect, Pasadena is looking into plastic bags restrictions. "Pasadena's Green City Action Plan, adopted in 2006, calls for the creation of a plastic bag reduction program to support the goal of achieving zero waste to landfills by 2040," reports the Pasadena Star News. Today, the city's Environmental Advisory Commission's Waste Reduction, Transportation and Environmental Health Committee will meet and invites the public to attend and give comment. In regards to other cities, Santa Monica is still considering restrictions while Malibu, Manhattan Beach and Los Angeles have already passed resolutions to reduce plastic bags. more ›

Styrofoam food containers will be banned in city buildings, at LAX, and at city-sponsored events beginning next July and plastic bags will be ordered pulled from store checkout counters July 1, 2010, in accordance with a ban approved today by LA City Council. The decision comes just weeks after a similar measure in Manhattan Beach passed despite the threat of a lawsuit. Malibu banned plastic bags in May and the debate stalled on the issue in Santa Monica earlier this year. In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags. more ›

Last night, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted and passed a ban on plastic bags, according to the City Clerk's Office. A month ago, the city tried to pass the ordinance, but opposition claimed the city did not go through the correct environmental review processes. Nevertheless, one group said prior to last night's meeting they would probably still sue the city over the new law. The oceanside city joins Malibu and San Francisco in plastic bag bans. Santa Monica is expected to join them later this summer. more ›

After both San Francisco and Malibu successfully passed plastic bag bans in their respective cities, Manhattan Beach is taking up the issue tonight at their City Council meeting. The measure is similar in nature to Malibu's ordinance, but opponents, Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, say the city did not go through the correct process to initiate such a ban and threatens to sue. Another issue to them is that paper bags are not addressed, which they contend are also bad for the environment. Santa Monica is also looking into a bag ban that will also have more regulations on paper bags. more ›

The quarter might become a triple-threat of the coin world soon if LA County and Heal the Bay have their way in Sacramento. Adding to the two biggest reasons why the 25 cent piece is the most coveted piece of cupronickel in your pocket--laundry and parking meters, of course--bill AB 2829 calls for "a mandatory fee on the distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags at all large grocery stores and pharmacies statewide." The bill differs from a previous one by another lawmaker, which called for reductions on a longer-range basis, and is not endorsed by Heal the Bay. more ›