Legislation by Sen. Catherine Blakespear of Encinitas to ban the use of thin-film plastic bags at grocery store checkouts passed the California Senate on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 1053 closes a loophole to the original ban enacted 10 years ago to ensure that customers are offered either paper bags or fully reusable plastic bags at checkout.
“California’s original ban on plastic bags hasn’t worked out as planned, and sadly, the state’s plastic bag waste has increased dramatically since it went into effect,” Blakespear said. “We need to do better.”
Blakespear said that “almost none” of the plastic bags currently sold at checkout are actually recycled, so her bill requires bags to meet higher recycling standards.
“The reality is that these bags are difficult to recycle — and so few are ever recycled — and they are seldom reused,” she said. “Instead, they have contributed to California’s growing plastic waste.”
SB 1053 passed the Senate on a 30-7 vote and now moves to the Assembly for consideration.