Despite a well funded lobbying effort by the plastics industry, the State Legislature approved a bill by Senator Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, to ban single use plastic bags throughout California. Governor Brown has 30 days to sign the bill into law.
Many Counties and Cities have already approved similar local ordinances, including Santa Cruz County. Effective July 1, 2015, the bill would ban grocery stores and pharmacies from making single-use plastic bags available to customers who would be encouraged to bring their own reusable bags for shopping. For customers who forget, merchants will be able to sell recycled paper or durable plastic bags for a dime.
The bill offers competitive loans and grants to plastic bag manufacturers to retool their operations and make durable/reusable plastic bags instead if their workers are retrained.