SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A state bill to close a loophole in California’s single-use plastic bag ban that allows for stores to distribute a “recyclable” alternative passed through its first hurdle.
Senate Bill 1053, introduced by Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), was approved by the State Environmental Quality Committee in a 5-2 vote on Wednesday.
The bill would remove a provision from the ban allowing stores to use thicker, “reusable” bags made out of recycled plastic film. It would also revise the requirement for stores to only provide paper bags made out of 100 percent recycled material, an increase from the previous 40 percent.
“Plastic waste is destroying our environment and jeopardizing our planet,” Blakespear said in a statement. “A plastic bag has an average lifespan of 12 minutes and then it is discarded, afflicting our environment with toxic microplastics that impact our oceans and landfills for up to 1,000 years. SB 1053 will dramatically cut California’s plastic bag pollution.”
California implemented its single-use plastic bag ban in 2016, two years after the bill establishing it was signed into law. This delay was due to a bid by plastic manufacturers to thwart its implementation by putting the ban before voters, who ultimately opted to uphold it.
An exception to the ban was the use of these slightly thicker film bags that are capable of more than 125 uses or the carrying of 22 pounds over a distance of 175 feet. At the time, the material these bags were made out of was considered “recyclable.”
This determination has since been walked back by state regulators, with CalRecycle designating the bags as “Not Recyclable” in December 2023.
State lawmakers in 2014, however, flagged how this loophole could undercut the intentions of the plastic ban in a Senate Environmental Quality analysis, challenging whether consumers would consider such plastic film bags as “reusable” or if they be treated like single-use bags.
“It is questionable whether most people would consider such bags as ‘reusable’ in the same, general sense as a cloth bag,” the report read. “Will these types of bags change consumer habits and result in litter reduction?”
The suspicion that these bags would be no different for consumers became reality. According to CalRecycle, the amount of grocery and merchandise bags disposed by Californians has grown roughly 47 percent between 2014, when the ban was passed, and 2022.
Studies have shown that these “reusable” bags often still end up in landfills or trash incinerators with other single-use plastic products, even if they are collected for recycling. This in turn contributes to global pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
“From production to disposal, plastic waste is detrimental to the environment and human health,” a coalition of environmental groups wrote in a statement supporting SB 1053. “Therefore, it is necessary to curb California’s plastic production as much as possible to preserve our environment and health.”
Plastics manufacturers and recyclers who oppose to the bill argue that eliminating the use of these plastic film bags would cause unintended consequences, such as the elimination of green manufacturing jobs and a “viable avenue for recycling flexible packaging.”
SB 1093 has been referred to the Senate Appropriations committee for another hearing before moving to the full chamber. Meanwhile, an Assembly bill that is nearly identical to SB 1053 is currently before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
