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Support for Bill to Ban Plastic Bags Continues to Grow
Photo by Fringe Focus via Flickr
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Photo by Fringe Focus via Flickr
Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) announced today that her bill to ban single-use bags, which includes paper and plastic, has “historic support”.
After the bill was amended last week to accommodate all stakeholders, AB 1998 is said to have the support of environmental groups and businesses alike. “We have achieved a historic agreement on a nearly cost- neutral measure with broad support from environmental groups and business,” said Brownley at a news conference today. Also present were representatives from California Grocers Association and the United Food and Commercial Workers.
The bill passed out of committee last week after amendments were made that now allow supermarkets, drug stores, convenience and liquor stores to sell recycled paper bags, made from 40 percent post-consumer material, for a reasonable cost if consumers forget their re-usable bags.
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But it is still worth it for Brownley who said that bags cost Californians $25 million a year to clean up off the coast. She also reported that the single-use plastic bags kill at least 267 species worldwide through ingestion and entanglement.
“Nothing that we use for 5 minutes should pollute the ocean for 500 years,” added Dan Jacobson, legislative director for Environment California.
The Assembly will vote on the bill this week.
Previously on LAist
- California One Step Closer to Banning Single-Use Plastic Bags
-One Week Left to Pass Ban on Plastic Bags
- Will California Ban Plastic Bags?
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