Ventura County Star Agrees: Time to Put the Lid on Plastic Bag Litter

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It’s encouraging to be hearing from so many Californians who want to do something about cleaning-up the plastic bag litter instead of just complaining or ignoring it. Here’s another editorial published today in the Ventura County Star supporting my Assembly Bill 2058, the toughest plastic bag reduction bill in the nation:

"If you aren't already recycling plastic grocery bags, now might be a good time to get into the habit. If not, look forward to paying for each bag used to haul your groceries home.

A bill that would have allowed stores to charge 25 cents for each plastic bag has stalled in the Legislature. However, an Assembly committee on Monday approved a proposal by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, to give grocery chains and large drug stores three years to increase plastic-bag recycling by 35 percent. By 2013, stores would have to demonstrate a 70 percent recycling increase. If they don't reach those staggered targets, they would be required to charge customers 15 cents a bag.

When merchants in Ireland started charging 33 cents a bag in 2002, use of plastic bags plummeted a whopping 94 percent in just a few weeks.

In California, recycling is the first step. Since July, supermarkets and large drug stores have been required to have receptacles for recycled plastic bags. Just keep them together until the next shopping trip and drop them in the bin as you enter the store. That's a habit shoppers can easily adopt.

Why the fuss over plastic bags? Count the reasons. ..."