California's Controversial Plastic Bag Ban

California is currently considering a plastic bag ban that would hopefully decrease much of the plastic waste in the Golden State.

Senate Bill 270 would ban the use of single use plastic bags at grocery stores, pharmacies and any convenience store with a liquor license issued by the state. All other businesses in the state would still be able to offer plastic bags to customers.

Supporters of the bill say that it would help to reduce the more than 14 billion single use bags utilized every year in California, but many say it's not far enough. Many say that the effects would be greatly limited because only a fraction of the bag waste is produced by the types of retailers affected. For example, 53,000 tons of plastic waste comes from bags distributed by restaurants in the state every year, and restaurants wouldn't be affected by the regulation.

So what do you think? Is even a small reduction in plastic bag waste a good thing, or should California scrap the bill and come up with one that would do more?

Leave a comment