While local cities like Manhattan Beach have made a push to ban plastic bags, now the whole state of California may ban the plastic devils. And while there's no certainty the bill would pass the state Senate, yesterday the State Assembly voted to both ban plastic bags from pharmacy, convenience, and grocery stores (and also liquor stores) and have store owners charge a nickel for paper bags, reports the New York Times. "The goal is to prompt 21st-century shoppers in California to do what 20th-century shoppers in Moscow did routinely — keep an avoska, or reusable sack, at the ready. China and Bangladesh already have plastic bag bans in place, and the United Nations has called for the bans to go global."
Those against the ban include the The American Chemistry Council, who are using the economic crisis as a way to rail against the proposal. "The last thing California consumers need right now is to have what amounts to a $1 billion tax added to their grocery bills – but that’s what this legislation does." The full statement is here.
· In California, a Step Toward B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bag) [NYT]
· Stop the $1 Billion Bag Tax [American Chemistry]
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