California enacts comprehensive ban on plastic shopping bags

State Senator Catherine Blakespear, a protagonist of the legislation, pointed retired that the reuse and recycling rates for integrative bags were alarmingly low. She cited a authorities survey revealing that the mean idiosyncratic disposed of 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of integrative buying bags annually by 2021, an summation from 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) successful 2004.

“We are virtually choking our satellite with integrative waste,” she stated successful February, according to a study by Associated Press.

Environmental advocates praised Newsom’s decision, claiming it would support California’s coastlines, marine life, and communities from single-use integrative bags. Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s plastics run director, remarked that the prohibition reinforces California’s relation arsenic a person successful combating the planetary integrative contamination crisis.

Currently, 12 states person enacted immoderate signifier of statewide integrative container ban, according to the advocacy radical Environment America Research & Policy Center, with galore cities crossed 28 states having their ain regulations. California archetypal introduced a statewide prohibition connected integrative bags successful 2014, which was subsequently supported by voters successful a 2016 referendum.

The California Public Interest Research Group welcomed the caller law, asserting that it aligns with the archetypal intent of the 2014 ban. “Plastic bags make contamination successful our situation and interruption into microplastics that contaminate our drinking h2o and endanger our health,” said Jenn Engstrom, the group’s director.

“With the Governor’s signature, California has yet banned integrative bags successful market checkout lanes erstwhile and for all”, said Jenn arsenic reported by AP.

Notably, Newsom was the politician of San Francisco erstwhile helium signed the nation’s archetypal integrative container prohibition successful 2007.