To the surprise of many observers, a bill that would have banned the use of plastic bags
in supermarkets, drug and convenience stores was defeated Tuesday in the California state senate, killing the legislation for now.
Plastic bags have become something of a iconic symbol of the environmental movement, which has been working for years to see the bags gone from the market, either through legislation or changed policies by retailers.
Over the past few years, retailers such as Whole Foods and a few others have stopped use of plastic bags, and the city of San Francisco and a few others have banned them through legislation.
Plastic bags have also been theoretically banned in parts globally in countries ranging from Ireland to China, but in practice use of plastic is still common if not predominate in most of those locations.
However, many observers, including some environmentalists, have said such bans are short-sighted, especially if the alternative is traditional paper bags, which by most measures are actually more environmentally friendly than the plastic bags despised by the Green lobby. (See Plastic Versus Paper Versus Re-Usable - the Great Shopping Bag Smackdown.) Environmentalists prefer re-usable sacks, but use of those bags has been slow to take off, and many consumers forget the totes or stop at stores on the spur of the moment with the re-usables sitting at home.
Still, it was initially expected that the California state legislature would pass such a ban state wide after the bill was introduced earlier this year. If it has passed, California would have become the first state to enact such a ban. The bill had passed in the state assembly earlier this summer, and had the public backing of many in the Hollywood industry.
But the bill failed this week in the state senate, with 14 for the bill and 20 opposed. It is not clear what all the factors were involved in the bill's defeat, but some senators cited new costs for consumers. The bill would have allowed retailers to charge consumers for the cost of recyled paper bags - thought to be in the range of 6-10 cents -by 2012.
Apparently, retailers are not allowed to charge separately in the state for paper bags now.
Many thought that if the ban passed in California, it would start a trend that be picked up by other states.
"If we don't solve this problem today, if we don't create a statewide standard, if we don't provide the leadership that is being called for, others will," said state Senator
Gil Cedillo during the floor debate.
Proponents of the bill are blaming lobbying efforts on the part of the
American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, which they say spent some $20 million on ads and other tactics to defeat the legislation.
Officials in several additional California cities, including Los Angles and Santa Monica, now say they will pursue local bans now instead.
Is it good or bad the the California plastic bag legislation failed for now? Why? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.
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