The state banned the use of plastic bags on the grounds that they are a major threat to natural ecosystems and wildlife

Oct 2, 2014 20:03 GMT  ·  By

Earlier this week, California Governor Jerry Brown inked a new law that environmentalists had been waiting for for years. In a nutshell, the Governor implemented a state-wide ban on single-use plastic bags.

What this means is that California can now give itself a pat on the back and congratulate itself for having made significant progress in terms of safeguarding local ecosystems and wildlife.

Why pass such a law?

Contrary to what some might assume, Governor Jerry Brown did not pass this law banning single-use plastic bags in California simply because he has a problem with the way they look or the noise they make when passed from one hand to the other.

On the contrary, he did it because plastic bags constitute a major threat to natural ecosystems and wildlife. Thus, they pollute rivers, oceans, and beaches and take decades to decompose after they reach the environment.

Besides, they tend to get together and block storm drains, forcing municipalities to spend buckets of money on recovering them and properly disposing of them, RT explains.

Governor Jerry Brown expects that, thanks to this ban, beaches and waterways in the state will be a great deal cleaner. “This bill is a step in the right direction – it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” he said in a statement.

The ban will be implemented in phases

Information shared with the public says that, rather than collecting all single-use plastic bags in sight and setting them on fire (which, by the way, would be very bad for the environment), California is to implement its green-oriented ban in phases.

Thus, the state will start by asking grocery stores and pharmacies to quit handing out disposable bags by July 1, 2015. Once this phase is completed, California will move to having grocery stores and pharmacies charge 10 cents for reusable plastic bags or paper bags.

Should things go according to plan, convenience and liquor stores will make the same changes to their working agenda by the year 2016. When all is said and done, the state should keep about 13 billion single-use plastic bags being tossed away on a yearly basis.

Not everybody is happy

Not at all surprisingly, there are some who claim that this law will harm local businesses and consumers, who will end up paying higher charges.

“It was a back-room deal between grocers and union bosses to scam California consumers out of billions of dollars without providing any public benefit, all under the guise of environmentalism,” said Lee Califf with the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a coalition of plastic bag manufacturers.

Governor Jerry Brown maintains that this is by no means the case and stresses that, in an attempt to do some damage control, the state is ready and willing to offer $2 million (about €1.6 million) in loans to businesses that will take steps towards moving away from the practice of manufacturing plastic bags.