California Doubles Down On Banning Plastic Bags After Old Bag-Ban Backfired
by Steven Greenhut 15 hours ago
…Remember all the hoopla in 2014 when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a “groundbreaking” law that would dramatically reduce solid waste by forbidding grocery stores from providing “single-use” plastic bags?
It’s been a decade since that law turned the grocery checkout process into a grinding routine as clerks ask consumers how many bags they want to buy and cheapskate shoppers drag out bacteria-laden reusable cotton ones.
That law’s backroom negotiations offer hilarious lessons in legislative sausage-making, as unions, stores, and environmentalists jockeyed for special privileges. A key compromise allowed stores to sell thicker “reusable” plastic bags, which seemed bizarre to me.
The “single-use” bags actually had multiple uses. They were so thin I’d keep them to pick up dog poo and line bathroom trash cans.
https://climatechangedispatch.com/california-doubles-down-on-banning-plastic-bags-after-old-bag-ban-backfired/