Senate Bill 270 has passed both houses of the California State Legislature, with a final Senate vote of 22-15.
“In crafting this compromise, it was imperative to me that we achieve the goals of doing away with single-use plastic bags, help change consumer behavior, and importantly, support and expand California jobs,” Senate President pro Tempore-elect Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said. “SB 270 is a win-win for the environment and for California workers.”
In 2013, Senator De León did not support bag ban legislation due to unaddressed policy concerns regarding the adverse impact on California workers. Last Fall Senator De León worked with industry and environmentalists to craft a solution that worked for all in SB 270.
“We applaud Senator De León for crafting solutions that balance efforts to clean the environment with the daily needs of family survival,” Executive Director of Mujeres de la Tierra Irma Muñoz said. “We’re thrilled to support SB 270 which protects the environment and supports California manufacturing jobs.”
This legislation will implement a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags while promoting recycling and California manufacturing, and provides financial incentives to maintain and retrain California employees in affected industries.
“SB 270 creates a pathway toward a reusable bag culture in California. Forward thinking plastic bag manufacturers have the opportunity to grow jobs and manufacture environmentally sustainable products,” CEO of Command Packaging Pete Grande said. “Command Packaging has already begun diverting plastic from landfills and producing reusable bags right here in California. SB 270 enables this recycling and reusable bag culture to develop without penalizing businesses or consumers in the state.”
Senate Bill 270 will institute a plastic bag ban beginning in 2015 for grocery store carry-out bags and create a mandatory minimum ten cent fee for recycled paper, reusable plastic and compostable bags. The measure will also provide financial incentives for worker retraining and company retooling.
Specifically, Senate Bill 270 will: ramp up the use of recycled content for reusable plastic bags to promote recycling and California manufacturing. In 2016, bags will be required to have 20 percent recycled content and in 2020 be made of 40 percent recycled content; support recycling of agriculture plastic film which is currently sent to landfills; require large grocery store chains to take back used bags for continued recycling; require third party certification of reusable plastic bags to ensure compliance with bag standards which support California manufacturing; and grandfathers existing local ordinances related to grocery bags.
SB 270 is supported by a large coalition of organizations including: California Coastal Coalition, California League of Conservation Voters, California Retailers Association, Californians Against Waste, Don’t Waste LA, Environment California, Global Green USA, Latino Coalition for a California Bag Ban, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Planning and Conservation League, Sierra Club California, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
