Ban On Plastic 'Recyclable' Grocery Bags Passed By CA Lawmakers

CALIFORNIA — The California State Senate this week voted to pass two bills aimed at closing the state's plastic ban loophole by eliminating the use of thicker supposedly recyclable plastic used by most grocery and retail stores.

Almost ten years into the state's plastic bag ban, Californians are sending almost 50 percent more plastic bag waste to landfills than the years prior to the ban, according to a study by CalRecycle.

Assembly Bill 2236 and Senate Bill 1053 will ban all plastic film bags in grocery stores and some retail stores and replace them with 50 percent recycled paper bags for a 10-cent fee. The Chamber approved SB 1053 in a 30-7 vote and AB 2236 was approved in a 51-7 vote.

"California's original ban on plastic bags hasn't worked out as planned, and sadly, the state's plastic bag waste has increased dramatically since it went into effect," Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D- Encinitas) said in a statement."We need to do better. Shockingly, some 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions alone. California must do its part to eliminate this scourge that is contaminating our environment."

The first plastic ban in California was implemented in 2016 and included a provision that allowed thicker "reusable" plastic bags. The film gives bags more than 125 uses and allows them to carry up to 22 pounds.

A plastic bag has an average lifespan of 12 minutes before it is discarded to remain in oceans and landfills for up to 1,000 years. Since plastics are mostly made from fossil fuels, their production releases toxic substances into our air and water.

At the time, the thicker bags were considered reusable and recyclable, but most consumers continued treating them the same way as single-use plastic bags. State regulators reconsidered the decision last year due to CalRecycle designating the bags non-recyclable.

In recent years, CalRecycle found that the amount of plastic shopping bags found in waste has increased by roughly 47 percent since 2014. In 2021, Californians generated an all-time high of 231,000 tons of plastic bag waste, according to the California Public Interest Research
Group.

According to CalRecycle, Californians disposed of 147,038 tons of plastic grocery bags or 8 pounds per person in 2014. By 2021, they were trashing to 231,072 tons of plastic bags or 11 pounds per person. A report by the Angeles Times found no recycling centers in the state that recycle the thicker bags.

Opponents of the ban, including the plastic manufacturing industry, content it overreaches and could discourage plastic recycling.

The revised bills are expected to be signed into law by the governor later this year.

"Plastic companies mass-producing thicker bags circumvent the law's intent. Then, inevitably, discarded bags pollute our communities and environment. We're thankful the state legislature is taking action to finally ban plastic grocery bags once and for all," said Jenn Engstrom, state director of CALPIRG.