May 24 - Seven Days Until Senate Floor Vote on Bag Bill
SB 405 (Padilla), a ban on single-use plastic bags in California, has passed out of fiscal committee, but now the big push begins to get it off the Senate floor. We’ve got seven days to get the facts out and send a message to the State Senate: It’s time to Ban the Bag in California.
All the lies the Plastics Industry is spreading with their misleading ads and false claims about the environmental benefits of their product can’t stop the momentum that has continued to grow for a statewide ban on bags. 75 California communities have already banned the bag.
What doesn’t work:
• Recycling: Less than 5% of plastic bags are ever recycled. They jam up recycling machinery, resulting additional costs for cities like Sacramento, which is spending up to $100,000 per year.
• Lightweight plastic material: even when single-use plastic bags are properly disposed, they are easily picked up by wind and blown out of trash cans, recycling centers and landfills. Once in the environment, they make their way to the ocean, where they pose a deadly risk to wildlife.
What works:
• Plastic bag ban: LA County saw a 95% reduction in single-use bag distribution after implementing its ordinance, including a 30% reduction in the use of paper bags.
• Plastic bag ban: San Jose saw an 89% reduction in bag litter in storm drains, a 50% to 60% reduction in creeks and rivers and a 59% reduction in streets and neighborhoods after its ordinance went into effect.
It’s a proven policy that gets results. The best way to reduce the economic and environmental impacts of single-use plastic bags is to keep them from getting into the environment in the first place.
What you can do:
• Sign the petition in support of SB 405 and forward to five friends, or share on Facebook.
• Take Action by sending a letter of support to your Senator. Or take a moment to send a FAX or make a phone call; find your Senator’s contact info here.
• Please consider making a special contribution to support CAW’s work on this important legislation.