Current:Home > NewsCalifornia bill would ban all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores-VaTradeCoin
California bill would ban all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores
View Date:2025-01-07 13:26:12
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would ban all plastic shopping bags in 2026 under a new bill announced Thursday in the state Legislature.
California already bans thin plastic shopping bags at grocery stores and other shops, but shoppers at checkout can purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly makes them reusable and recyclable.
Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear said people are not reusing or recycling those bags. She points to a state study that found the amount of plastic shopping bags trashed per person grew from 8 pounds per year in 2004 to 11 pounds per year in 2021.
“It shows that the plastic bag ban that we passed in this state in 2014 did not reduce the overall use of plastic. It actually resulted in a substantial increase in plastic,” Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas, said Thursday. “We are literally choking our planet with plastic waste.”
Twelve states, including California, already have some type of statewide plastic bag ban in place, according to the environmental advocacy group Environment America Research & Policy Center. Hundreds of cities across 28 states also have their own plastic bag bans in place.
While California’s bag ban would apply statewide, it would only end up impacting about half the state’s population, according to Mark Murray, lead advocate for the environmental advocacy group Californians Against Waste. That’s because most of the state’s major cities already ban these types of thicker plastic bags. But a state law passed in 2014 and approved by voters in a 2016 referendum bans cities from passing new laws restricting plastic bag use.
If the Legislature passes this bill, it would be up to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to decide whether to sign it into law. As San Francisco’s mayor in 2007, Newsom signed the nation’s first plastic bag ban.
veryGood! (36)
Related
- 'He's driving the bus': Jim Harbaugh effect paying dividends for Justin Herbert, Chargers
- U.N. nuclear chief visits Ukraine nuke plant after dam explosion, to help prevent a nuclear accident
- Summer House Trailer: Carl Radke & Lindsay Hubbard's Engagement Causes All Hell to Break Loose
- Canada bus crash leaves 15 dead as seniors heading for casino killed in collision with truck
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- Summer House’s Sam Feher and Kory Keefer Are Dating
- North Korea test fires two ballistic missiles into Sea of Japan, South Korea says
- Avril Lavigne Holds Tyga Close During Bike Ride in Malibu
- The Best Gifts for Men – That He Won’t Want to Return
- Carbon Dioxide, Which Drives Climate Change, Reaches Highest Level In 4 Million Years
Ranking
- In bizarro world, Tennessee plays better defense, and Georgia's Kirby Smart comes unglued
- Ecuadoran woman who knocked on coffin during her own wake has died
- Ukrainians expected to finish Abrams tank training by end of summer
- The MixtapE! Presents Jhené Aiko, Charlie Puth, aespa and More New Music Musts
- Amtrak service disrupted after fire near tracks in New York City
- Shakira Shares Why She’s Moving Away From Barcelona With Her and Gerard Piqué's 2 Kids
- Top-Rated Shapewear To Help You Look and Feel Your Best: SKIMS, Spanx, Shapermint, Maidenform, and More
- Woman in disguise tried to kill ex's wife with knife hidden in bouquet of flowers, U.K. police say
Recommendation
-
The boy was found in a ditch in Wisconsin in 1959. He was identified 65 years later.
-
Fearing Their Kids Will Inherit Dead Coral Reefs, Scientists Are Urging Bold Action
-
Key takeaways from Antony Blinken's visit to China
-
Christina Hall's Husband Josh Hall Pokes Fun at Critics as Couple Celebrates 2 Years Together
-
Panel advises Illinois commemorate its role in helping slaves escape the South
-
Why Clearing Brazil's Forests For Farming Can Make It Harder To Grow Crops
-
Cyclone Biparjoy hits India and Pakistan hard, setting a record, but mass-evacuations save lives
-
Greece migrant boat capsize leaves hundreds missing, with fear 100 kids trapped in hold