A new law in California has yet to officially take effect, but as reported by Sacramento’s KXTV, some grocery stores have begun to comply early.
Senate Bill 1053, adopted in 2024, is a plastic bag ban, but it is not the first such legislation in the state. California was the first state to introduce a ban on plastic bags in 2014, but loopholes in the original law ultimately exacerbated plastic pollution in several ways.
SB 1053 was structured to provide retail establishments a little more than a year to work through their provision of non-compliant plastic bags before taking effect on January 1st.
Plastic bag bans are not new. Bangladesh was the first to restrict them in 2002, after officials determined they were clogging drainage systems and exacerbating flooding.
In January 2024, the World Economic Forum highlighted research showing the effectiveness of plastic bag bans in the United States. In three states and two cities, the researchers found that 6 billion fewer plastic bags were used each year.
Environment America, one of the groups involved in the research, has created a location-based calculator so visitors can see how effective plastic bag bans are in the user’s area. As the group noted, plastic bag bans are not just about reducing unsightly litter.
Plastic bags often end up in waterways and oceans, where they pose an entanglement risk for wildlife. However, plastic bags and plastic itself are terrible for human health, too.
Even when plastic is designed to be used once, such as grocery bags, it can take centuries upon centuries to break down.
Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastic and former official of the Environmental Protection Agency, repeatedly emphasized that every piece of plastic ever made is “still with us today on the planet,” according to the podcast “Factually! with Adam Conover”. In addition to covering the planet in plastic waste, the substance also emits harmful microplastics.
Microplastics were only identified in 2004, and since then, researchers have identified significant negative impacts on the environment, wildlife and humans. Exposure to microplastics has been linked to serious health risks, including heart attacks and some cancers.
KXTV visited a grocery store in Lodi to talk to shoppers as plastic bags became scarce.
“The paper is cool, but it breaks… I’d rather have the plastic bag, honestly,” said Enrique Flores. However, Chris Forest, another shopper, was happy with the reusable grocery bags.
“After the inconvenience, we get used to it. When I take the plastic bags, I just throw them out, so I think the law is a good idea,” said Forest.
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