Dec 21 - End of Year Recap on CA Bag Bans

2012 was a great year for local bag ordinances, both in California and around the world (read more about the Portland bag ban, and the recent decision in Switzerland).

Here are some stats for California:

• 20 new bag ordinances adopted in 2012 alone, covering 41 cities and counties
• That's double the number of bag ordinances adopted in 2011
• Stores in at least 56 cities and counties will be plastic bag free by Earth Day 2013
• By then over 6.5 million residents (17% of the state) will be covered under those ordinances

Californians use 14 billion plastic bags each year, most for only the minutes it takes to transport their groceries from the store to their homes. These bags never biodegrade and ultimately end up as trash in our landfills, or litter in our environment. Learn more about plastic bag pollution.

The writing is on the wall for single-use plastic bags, and even their manufacturers realize this. Several single-use bag companies are making reusable plastic bags that can be sold in San Francisco and other jurisdictions that have banned single-use plastic bags.

Thanks to the local momentum, we've gotten very close to passing a statewide bill in recent years. Next year will add many more jurisdictions to the list of bag bans. Stay tuned on our website as we continue our efforts to get rid of the single-use plastic bag in the 2013-2014 Legislative Session.