California's plastic bag ban backfires after customers just start dumping thicker and heavier 10 cent 'reusable' carriers instead, triggering more pollution than ever

• California found plastic bag pollution by weight increased to unprecedented levels a decade after landmark decision to ban single-use plastic bags 
• Customers are instead dumping thicker and heavier ‘reusable’ carriers that cost 10 cents, triggering more pollution than ever  
• Now, California legislators are working to rectify the growing problem by proposing a new law that bans the thick plastic bags provided at checkout 

California’s plastic bag ban has backfired nearly a decade after the state made history as the first to ban single-use carriers – sparking a nationwide movement.

In the years since the landmark decision, material recovery facilities and environmental activists in the golden state have observed an unexpected surge in plastic bag waste by weight, according to a report by the LA Times.

Customers now dump thicker and heavier ‘reusable’ carriers instead, triggering more pollution than ever – for only an extra ten cents per bag at the check out.

Now, California legislators are working to rectify the growing problem by proposing a new law that plans to ban the thick plastic bags too.

California found plastic bag pollution by weight increased to unprecedented levels a decade after the landmark decision to ban single-use plastic bags

Customers now dump thicker and heavier ‘reusable’ carriers instead, triggering more pollution than ever for only an extra ten cents at checkout

Now, California legislators are working to rectify the growing problem by proposing a new law that bans the thick plastic bags provided at checkout

The proposed legislation is co-authored by Senator Allen, Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and Senator Catherine Blakespear.

It attempts to address the climate and health impact caused by the plastic bags as well as the shortcomings of recycling efforts, with a mere 8.7 percent of all plastics estimated to be recycled in 2018.

Senator Ben Allen highlighted that these thick plastic bags were not what consumers had envisioned when supporting the bag ban at the ballot box in 2016.

California discarded a whopping 157,385 tons of plastic bags in the year the ban was implemented, according to a report by the consumer advocacy group CALPIRG.

By 2022, this amount nearly doubled to 231,072, marking a whopping 47 percent increase – accounting for population growth.

California has discarded a whopping 157,385 tons of plastic bags in the year the ban was implemented, according to a report by the consumer advocacy group CALPIRG

By 2022, this amount nearly doubled – surging to 231,072, marking a whopping 47 percent increase – accounting for population growth

The root of the problem lay in a specific section of the law, allowing grocery stores and large retailers to offer thicker, heavier-weight plastic bags for a dime each

The legislation attempts to address the climate and health impact caused by the plastic bags as well as the shortcomings of recycling efforts, with a mere 8.7 percent of all plastics estimated to be recycled in 2018

The root of the problem lay in a specific section of the law which allowed grocery stores and large retailers to offer thicker, heavier-weight plastic bags for a dime each.

Mark Murray, director of Californians Against Waste, told the LA Times, ‘It was a conscious decision to create a pathway for a type of reusable bag that barely existed.’

‘It was just emerging in the marketplace, but it happened to be made by a couple of California companies … which the manufacturers claimed they could certify as being reusable,’ he added.

Since the bags were made from 20 percent recyclable material and recyclable, Murray said, ‘we said, all right, fine. We’re gonna put that specific criteria into the law.’ But he claimed that experiment ‘failed.’

Mark Gold, director of Water Scarcity Solutions, who worked on the original legislation, described the move as a ‘gaping hole’ in the law.

These reusable bags, made of the material called HDPE, are ‘thicker and heavier’ than the LDPE plastic bags used previously.

And they are most likely not recycled in residential and consumer settings, Murray told the LA Times.

In 2014, California passed the law banning single-use plastic bags throughout the state, and bringing in a 10 cents charge to use disposal paper bags instead

The legislation, which planned to take effect in 2016, was the nation’s first statewide ban on the bags, impacting grocery stores, convenience shops and pharmacies

The new proposed legislation is co-authored by Senator Allen, Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and Senator Catherine Blakespear

Jenn Engstrom, CALPIRG’S state director, told the LA Times, that ‘plastic bag companies invented these thicker plastic bags that technically meet that definition of reusable but are clearly not being reused and don’t look like reusable bags and which just circumvent the law’s intent.’

‘The idea is to go back and redefine reusable bags as a way to get rid of all those setbacks that we’re now seeing very commonly in grocery stores,’ Engstrom added.

In 2014, California passed the law banning single-use plastic bags throughout the state, and brought in a 10 cents charge to use disposal paper bags instead.

The legislation, which took effect in 2016, was the nation’s first statewide ban on the bags, impacting grocery stores, convenience shops and pharmacies.

The law, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown at the time, began allowing grocers to charge a minimum of 10 cents to use paper bags instead.

The bill, SB270, was a response to rising levels of litter – particularly in the Pacific ocean.

But it caused outrage at the time from plastic bag manufacturers, who claim the bill will destroy jobs and drive up prices for the poor.

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