SB 1053 (Blakespear & Allen) /
AB 2236 (Bauer-Kahan)
OVERVIEW:
SB 1053 / AB 2236 would eliminate the use of “thicker” plastic film bags by establishing requirements for reusable bags sold by stores to customers at the point of sale. It would also revise the definition of “recycled paper bag” to require it to be from 100% post-consumer recycled content.
ISSUE:
Following the momentum of local ordinances enacted across the state, SB 270 (Padilla, 2014) was adopted by the Legislature, initiating a statewide phase-out of single-use plastic carryout bags at most food and beverage stores. This legislation included an exemption for thicker plastic bags made of high-density polyethylene, or HDPE.
In 2004, CalRecycle released a waste characterization study and found Californians disposed of 147,038 tons of plastic grocery and merchandise bags, roughly 8 pounds per person. In 2021, that number climbed to 231,072 tons of plastic bags, or 11 pounds per person. What this data shows is that the “plastic bag ban” passed in 2014 did not reduce the overall use of plastic bags and actually resulted in a substantial increase.
Although proponents of HDPE bags will claim they are easily recyclable in California, these bags need to go to specialty recycling facilities. According to a LA Times report, many municipal workers say plastic bags have to be manually removed from the machinery at regular recycling centers and end up in a landfill. Moreover, the LA Times reached out to municipal and city recycling centers around the state and was unable to find a single one that accepts HDPE bags for recycling.
Position: Strongly supported by Californians Against Waste
Contact: Mark Murray & Krystal Raynes
