Hey California, do away with the one-use plastic bag..........

Oh, the dreaded plastic shopping bag... known as the "urban tumbleweed" for its seemingly ever present existence in trees, sewer drains and even worse.... polluting our oceans and killing birds and sea animals by the thousands every year.

This cheap "convenience" is taking its toll on the environement and is a source of litter the world over.

Ireland has imposed a "plastax" and has seen use of the plastic bag drop dramatically, other European, Asian and African nations have even banned them outright.

Alas, the United States, as with most social and environmental progression, is the last to take action to better the situation. Although relative to this slow national movement on this issue, California leads the way (yes, something to make you proud to live in this state).

So, the first step towards real change was the passage of AB 2449, by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, the bill did the following per the Californians Against Waste website:

"Starting July 1, 2007, AB 2449 has established a 6 year pilot program requiring most large grocery stores and other retailers to create an in-store recycling program for the collection and recycling of plastic 'carry out' bags. The program will include:

-Labeling bags to return to the store for recycling.

-Placing recycling bins in visible and accessible locations for customers.

-The provision of reusable bags for customers to potentially purchase and use in lieu of disposable ones.

In addition, plastic bag manufacturers would be required to work with the grocery stores on their programs to help ensure the proper collection, transportation and recycling of the plastic bags."

A good first step, but now Levine and Assemblyman Mike Davis have introduced two new bills:

Assembly Bill (AB) 2058 (Per the Long Beach Press Telegram) - "Levine's bill would require stores in the recycling program to cut their plastic bag use by 35 percent by the end of 2010 and 70 percent by the end of 2012 or charge customers a 15-cent-per-bag fee.

The money would have to be used to clean up plastic bag litter and promote recycling."

and

AB 2829 (Per the Long Beach Press Telegram) -".......would impose a 25-cent per-bag fee on plastic starting July 1, 2009. Stores could retain 3 percent of the fee to cover costs associated with collecting it. The rest would go into a state fund for local programs to reduce plastic bag use and combat plastic bag litter."

Of course the California Retailers Association, always a beacon of change [said with sarcasm], is opposing the bills, "....lawmakers should give the recycling programs [previously passed under AB 2449] more time to work before considering fees to discourage plastic bags," stated William Dombrowski, president of the California Retailers Association.

Foot dragging, stonewalling and other delay tactics are par for the course, its time to take the litter and environmental damage these one-use bags bring seriously and move to a better alternative, reusable shopping bags. Acceptance of these reusable shopping bags are already starting to take hold here in California and is what most Europoeans already use as part of their shopping routine.

If retailers really think hard about it and step outside the box, imagine the cost savings they would achieve by dumping the one-use bags and the retailing potential of offering fashionable and well designed reusable shopping bags where the shopper bears the cost of getting.

If you live in California, lend your support to AB 2058 and AB 2859, good steps in the right direction towards banning one-use pastic shopping bags. Call and send letters to your state assembly member or senator stating your support. If you live outside the state, these bills are great models for change, speak up and ask your elected official to carry bills that help rid the world of the "urban tumbleweed" forever.

Sean