A plastic grocery bag ban proposed by Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, has overcome its first hurdle and is headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Assembly Bill 158 was approved Monday by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata. Chesbro helped co-author Levine’s bill along with Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, Richard Gordon, D-Menlo Park, and Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo.
Levine said he’s pleased to see the bill moving onto the next step as it will help preserve the ocean’s ecosystem.
“Plastic bags account for roughly 10 percent of the debris that washes up on beaches,” Levine said. “California spends $25 million every year to take care of discarded plastic bags.”
If passed, the bill would require certain retailers to stop offering plastic bags starting January 2015. It revives a similar bill that got stuck in a Senate committee last year after it faced criticism from plastic bag manufacturers and grocers.
Under Levine’s bill, grocery stores with $2 million or more in annual sales or retailers with at least 10,000 square feet of floor space would have to stop offering plastic bags.
These stores would be required by January 2016 to provide reusable bags for customers to purchase. Stores would have to pay a fee to CalReycle, a state agency focused on reducing waste, to have the reusable bags certified as compliant.
Stores would be allowed to sell paper bags only if they are made of at least 40 percent post-consumer recycled materials.
Marin County has had a plastic bag ban in place since Jan. 1, 2012. Fairfax has banned plastic bags since its residents in 2008 approved the idea with a 79 percent majority vote.
Levine said he believes his bill has a good chance of passing the Assembly.
“The support for this across the state and in the North Bay is substantial,” Levine said.
Supporters of the bill include the Surfrider Foundation, Californians Against Waste, Natural Resources Defense Council, California State Association of Counties, Sierra Club California and California State Lands Commission.
Opposing organizations include the American Forest and Paper Association and the Association of California Cities in Orange County.
Contact Megan Hansen via email at mhansen@marinij.com or via Twitter at http://twitter.com/hansenmegan
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