California becomes the first state in the United States to ban plastic bags. The bags that are handed out to customers in grocery shops, retail outlets and even in liquor stores will be a thing of the past for the environmental state.
California governor Edmund Brown on Tuesday signed a law that bans plastic shopping bags from the country's most populous state. The new law takes effect on the large grocery franchises on 1 July and will extend to the stores and the liquor places on July 1, 2016.
The move is a win for the state's environmentalists who argue that every year, 13 million non decomposable plastic bags are handed out in the state and end up in sewers, drainage pipes and other waterways. The plastic bags do not break down, hence they stay there polluting the environment for years on end.
"This bill is a step in the right direction -- it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself," Governor Brown said in his statement. "We're the first to ban these bags, and we won't be the last."
The bill also went ahead to offer $2 million in state backed loans to assist the businesses transitioning to reusable bags.
Critics have come pouring down on the Californian legislation, claiming it isn't sustainable and it will only result into millions of job cuts across the state.
The ban on plastic bags, however, has succeeded in other places. In Hawaii, four of their islands have ordinances running against plastic bags. Similarly, San Francisco was the first city to ban the plastic bags in 2007. Los Angeles banned the commodity earlier this year. In Seattle, Chicago and Portland, the plastic bags are also prohibited.
The California law provides that stores will be obligated to offer their customers recycled bags made of decomposable material at a cost of at least 10 cents.
