Sep 26, 2024 09:59 PM
California’s first plastic bag ban made things worse. Now it’s trying again
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/25/nx-s1-512...ic-bag-ban
INTRO: Ten years after California approved a plastic bag ban that’s been blamed for making its plastic bag problem worse, the state is banning single-use plastic grocery bags entirely.
In 2014, California became the first state to pass a plastic bag ban. It’s one of at least 12 states that now have some form of ban on single-use plastic bags.
But because of a loophole in its initial ban that allowed grocers to charge for thicker plastic bags, California still dumped 231,072 tons of plastic grocery and merchandise bags in landfills in 2021, according to the state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle. That was a sharp increase from the year the ban took effect — and nearly 100,000 more tons than in 2018.
California officials are saying that there's a perception that plastics — especially plastic bags — can be easily recycled. But they say that this is not the reality and that consumers have been deceived for decades.
“CalRecycle has not identified facilities that recycle plastic bags in the state of California,” the agency told NPR this week.
The state filed a suit on Sunday alleging that ExxonMobil promoted recycling while knowing that it was technically and economically challenging and wouldn't make much of a dent in the plastic waste problem.
Here’s a rundown of California’s new ban and similar measures... (MORE - details)
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/25/nx-s1-512...ic-bag-ban
INTRO: Ten years after California approved a plastic bag ban that’s been blamed for making its plastic bag problem worse, the state is banning single-use plastic grocery bags entirely.
In 2014, California became the first state to pass a plastic bag ban. It’s one of at least 12 states that now have some form of ban on single-use plastic bags.
But because of a loophole in its initial ban that allowed grocers to charge for thicker plastic bags, California still dumped 231,072 tons of plastic grocery and merchandise bags in landfills in 2021, according to the state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle. That was a sharp increase from the year the ban took effect — and nearly 100,000 more tons than in 2018.
California officials are saying that there's a perception that plastics — especially plastic bags — can be easily recycled. But they say that this is not the reality and that consumers have been deceived for decades.
“CalRecycle has not identified facilities that recycle plastic bags in the state of California,” the agency told NPR this week.
The state filed a suit on Sunday alleging that ExxonMobil promoted recycling while knowing that it was technically and economically challenging and wouldn't make much of a dent in the plastic waste problem.
Here’s a rundown of California’s new ban and similar measures... (MORE - details)