When most people go grocery shopping, many ask for their items to be placed into plastic bags when they purchase them.
California is known to be the first state to ban plastic bags at the state level. San Francisco was the first major U.S city that expelled plastic bags beginning in the year 2017. Some cities where plastic bags are absolutely not allowed include Seattle, Chicago, Portland, and Austin.
In Sacramento, California, Governor Jerry Brown officially signed the nation’s first statewide loan in single use plastic bags at all grocery and convenience stores due to the fact of pollution in streets and waterways.
Under this new law, plastic bags will no longer be in use at large grocery stores and supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Pharmacies beginning July 1, 2015 and will spread to convenience stores and liquor stores by July 1, 2016. This law does not include the bags that are used for fruit, vegetables, or meats.
“The bill is a step in the right direction- it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself”, stated Jerry Brown in a signing statement. “We’re the first to ban these bags and we won’t be the last.”
The new beginning of the ban of plastic bags is a plus for environmentalist who state that the 13 million plastic bags that are handed out each year end up in waterways and landfills. On the other hand, critics assume and argue that the new law is foolish and will put 30,000 jobs in danger across the country.
Stores all over will be required to offer customers recycled paper bags or bags made out of compostable material for a minimum of 10 cents. Consumer’s buying groceries using California’s food-assistance program will not have to pay for bags.
Grocery owners in the state were the first to introduce the ban of plastic bags in California due to the millions of dollars they spent each year on them. The law will provide $2 million in state-backed loans to help businesses transition to reusable bags.
State authorities also favored the thought of banning plastic bags, which would decrease the amount of money spent when sanitation departments clean up litter.
“A state plastic bag ban saves taxpayers the huge amount of money spent on litter cleanup, and protects the environment,” proposed Leslie Tamminen, director of the Clean Seas Coalition, a group of lawmakers and environmentalists.
The state legislature in California has attempted to prohibit plastic bags over the years. Proponents argue that plastic bags are only useful for a short amount of time, but can be harmful to wildlife for a period of time and bags made from petroleum products can affect global warming.
An end to the use of plastic bags will not only benefit our environmental health and future, but it may be different and cause problems for regular users. However, coming to see that banning bags is a big step toward the recovery of our environment is inevitable.