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Author: |
Padilla (D) |
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Title: |
Solid Waste: Single-Use Carryout Bags |
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Introduced: |
02/14/2013 |
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Last Amend: |
02/06/2014 |
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Disposition: |
Pending |
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Location: |
Assembly Rules Committee |
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Summary: |
Prohibits specified stores from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer. Requires such stores to meet other requirements regarding providing recycled paper bags and compostable bags. Imposes these prohibitions and requirements on convenience food stores, foodmarts, and certain other specified stores. Requires bags sold or provided to a store by a reusable grocery bag producer to meet specified requirements, and bag producers to provide certification. Authorizes local civil penalties. |
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Status: |
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After three unsuccessful attempts to outlaw single-use plastic grocery bags statewide, legislators announced a compromise on Jan. 14, 2014 that they said appears headed for passage. Their proposal would impose a 10-cent fee on alternative bags while banning single-use plastic bags.
The new proposal would exempt those on food stamps from the fee and would be phased in starting July 2015.
While lawmakers battled over the issue, plastic grocery bag bans were approved in 90 cities and counties in California, including Los Angeles city and county.
Some legislators had worried that businesses in their districts would be hurt. But some lawmakers who led the opposition in recent years support the new compromise, which would allow grocers to charge at least a dime for bags made of recycled paper, reusable plastic and compostable materials.
In addition, the state would allow businesses to tap $2 million in recycling funds to retool manufacturing plants and retrain workers who make plastic bags.
The measure, SB 270, would require reusable bags to contain 20% recycled content at first and 40% by 2020. The 10-cent fee is intended to reimburse retailers for the cost of providing alternative bags and to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags to the store.
The ban on single-use plastic bags would apply to supermarkets and large grocery stores starting July 1, 2015, and would extend to pharmacies and liquor stores in 2016.
Governor Brown does not have a public position on the proposal.
Contra Costa County Efforts
Contra Costa County committed in the "Short Term Trash Reduction Plan" to enact an ordinance to prohibit the free distribution of single use plastic bags and polystyrene foam food and beverage containers. Members of the Board of Supervisors wanted these ordinances to be able to spread easily into adjacent cities in order to create economic parity across the County. Unfortunately there was insufficient desire by most cities to pursue these ordinances at that time. At the same time, information conveyed by several southern California cities indicated that a County-wide approach would be politically difficult and costly. The County chose to postpone the development of these ordinances to the Long Term Plan.
For the Long Term Plan, the County proposes to implement the single use plastic bag ordinance developed by the West County Integrated Waste Authority (AKA Recyclemore) within its jurisdiction (North Richmond, the Richmond Pocket Neighborhoods, and El Sobrante) by July 1, 2014. The County will adopt the foam polystyrene food container ordinance, currently in development by RecycleMore, within six months of its approval by the Board of Directors.
The County will pursue a single use plastic bag ordinance by July 1, 2017 and a foam polystyrene food and beverage container ordinance by July 1, 2022 for the remainder of the unincorporated areas of the County, and enact it by July 1, 2017. This ordinance will be based on RecycleMore’s ordinance, so as to achieve consistency within unincorporated communities. It is not known at this time if other cities will join the effort |