After state lawmakers approved a ban on single-use carryout bags at the end of August, California now stands at a historic precipice.
Senate Bill 1849 has been sent to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk after the California Legislature became the first state body to pass legislation that would eliminate plastic containers from being sold in grocery and convenience stores. If Brown signs SB 1849 this month, California will be the first state in the nation to have a statewide ban on plastic bags.
The bill, which passed the state Senate 22-15, will allow stores to sell customers who wish to purchase a paper bag for 10 cents.
Unlike in past years, state legislators withstood a last-minute campaign by the plastics industry, which ran commercials and spent millions of dollars in advertising in opposition to the bill.
Kirsten James recognizes the potential historic implications of SB 270.
“It is particularly gratifying to see that all of our hard work has paid off,” said James of Heal the Bay, one of the dozens of environmental organizations that have pushed for a statewide ban on plastic bags for years. “This could be a precedent-setting policy that hopefully will have a domino effect around the nation.”
Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City), who pledged to support a statewide prohibition on the sale of plastic when he was campaigning for the Assembly seat last year, did not respond at News press time for comment.
James, the Santa Monica-based organization’s science and policy director of water quality, thinks bringing diverse interests such as the California Grocers Association, labor unions and legislators from inland communities into the fold helped pushed the bill over the finish line.
“The unique coalition of supporters was key,” James said. “This victory shows that grassroots advocacy can overcome the deep pockets of the plastics industry.”
The American Progressive Bag Alliance, which represents the plastic bag manufacturing and recycling sectors of the United States, was one of SB 270’s biggest opponents. Instead of banning plastic bags, they advocate more recycling and plastic bag reuse.
Beginning in May, the alliance launched a six-figure advertising blitz that included television, radio, print and online commercials detailing its opposition to SB 270.
Culver City’s ban on plastic took effect earlier this year. Dozens of other cities and counties had enacted prohibitions on single-use bags before local legislators in the “Heart of Screenland” did, leading local sustainability activists to embark on a two-plus year campaign to force the issue to come before the City Council.
“After the state rejected the ban in 2010, and before being elected to the City Council, I became involved in pushing for a local ordinance,” Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells said. “In those four years, over 100 California cities and counties have passed plastic bag bans, including Culver City.”
Currently, 121 counties and cities in California have enacted bans on disposable bags, said James.
Göran Eriksson of Esi Techtrans thinks the bill will have a limited effect statewide.
“We still don’t have an effective recycling program for all of the other plastic-based products,” said Eriksson, a board member of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce.
Eriksson said the 10 cent paper bag fee could have been used for an environmental fund that could be used to clean up Ballona Creek in Culver City, which has often been a repository for discarded disposable bags.
Friends of the Ballona Wetlands Executive Director Lisa Fimiani said her organization has advocated for a statewide ban since 2007. “We’re all for it,” said Fimiani, who lives in Culver City.
According to the advocacy group Californians Against Waste, Californians alone use 19 billion plastic bags every year, which often end up in landfills and waterways.
Brown has until the end of the month to veto or sign the bill or allow it to become law without his signature.
