In the News

Proposed Local and State Legislation Would Ban Single-Use Carryout Bags in California

May 6, 2010

California stores would be prohibited from providing single-use carryout bags for customers after January 1, 2012 under a recently proposed assembly bill, AB 1998. The bill was approved by an initial vote of 6-3 on April 12 in the State Assembly Natural Resources Committee, and has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Currently, stores in California are required to have a plastic bag recycling program under a 2006 Statute, Chapter 845, AB 2449. That bill, which expires on January 1, 2013 unless renewed, also pre-empts local governments from enacting a per-bag fee on plastic bags. AB 1998 would repeal the in-store recycling requirements on January 1, 2012 when the single-use carryout ban became effective.

Four California cities—San Francisco, Malibu, Fairfax, and Palo Alto—have enacted plastic bag bans. The City of Fairfax plastic bag ban was passed by voter initiative in November 2008. The Manhattan Beach City council voted in July 2008 to ban plastic bags, but is being sued to force the city to conduct an environmental impact report (EIR), as required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), before the ban can be enacted (see the PackagingLaw.com article, City Must Determine Environmental Impact Before Banning Plastic Bags, Court Rules, for background information). The California Supreme Court has agreed hear this case, but has not set a date yet.

A number of other local governments in California are considering plastic bag bans. Both the Santa Clara County and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted on April 13, 2010 to move forward with ordinances to ban plastic bags. The Santa Clara County ordinance would ban single-use carryout bags distributed by retail businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county. The next step is for county staff to draft a proposed ordinance that will be presented to the Board by October for approval. The county will also consider the environmental consequences of adopting the ordinance as required by the CEQA. Santa Clara County plans to review an EIR being prepared by the City of San Jose and may use it as a model, according to a press release issued by the county on the proposed ban.

The San Jose City Council directed city staff on September 22, 2009 to finish an environmental review on a proposed plastic and paper bag ordinance that would prohibit the distribution of single-use plastic and paper bags at the point of sale for all retail businesses in San Jose except restaurants. Under the proposal, some exceptions would be allowed. For example, retailers would be permitted to provide paper bags containing at least 40 percent recycled content, if they charged a fee for them. (More information on San Jose's EIR can be found on the city's website.)

Green Cities California (GCC), a coalition of local governments in California, released a Master Environmental Assessment (MEA) of Single Use and Reusable Bags in March 2010. The MEA summarizes existing studies on the environmental impacts of single-use plastic, paper, compostable, and reusable grocery bags, and analyzes the impacts of policy options such as fees and bans on these bags. The MEA can be used by local governments in the preparation of EIRs on ordinances to ban or restrict the use of single-use bags, thereby reducing the need for independent research and the cost of preparing the reports. Palo Alto and Manhattan Beach, while not members of GCC, were among the cities that providing funding for the MEA.

The MEA found that even though paper bags are recycled at a significantly higher rate than plastic bags, over its lifetime, "a single-use paper bag has significantly larger greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and result in greater atmospheric acidification, water consumption, and ozone production than plastic bags." The report also concluded that biodegradable bags have "greater environmental impacts at manufacture, resulting in more GHG emissions and water consumption than conventional plastic bags." (More information on the MEA of Single Use and Reusable Bags can be found on Green Cities California's website.)