Staff Reports
The Democratic Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed a measure into law last week that requires grocery stores to stop using plastic bags to keep fruits and vegetables prior to the customer making a purchase from those stores by the year 2025.
According to Senate Bill 1046, retail establishments are not permitted to provide customers with "precheckout" bags unless the bags can be composted or are composed of recycled paper materials.
This makes the state the first in the nation to get rid of such bags gradually over time, and it may very well pave the way for other states to take action that is comparable to its own. According to The Mercury News, establishments must demonstrate compliance with the new rule no later than January 1, 2025.
This particular type of plastic film cannot be recycled. According to Mercury, Nick Lapis stated that it is a pollutant in practically any bin that it is placed into. Director of Advocacy for the pro-legislation organization Californians Against Waste is Lapis.
It can be seen flying over landfills and flying out of the back of trucks. At recycling plants, it becomes entangled in the gears. In addition to this, it pollutes compost. Lapis continued by saying, It's a difficult product, and we want to get rid of it.
Nonetheless, there were some people who did not support the proposal, most notably the California Grocers Association. In April, the organization requested that grocery stores be given until 2025 instead of 2023 to adopt the new laws for compostable materials in a letter that was written to Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, one of the legislators who initiated the measure. The letter was addressed to Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman.
According to reports, the organization also requested that local towns not be permitted to enact identical laws or apply fines on firms who include one-time use produce bags in their operations. Eggman did not give in to one of those demands at any point.
According to Leticia Garcia, director of state government affairs for the California Grocers Association, they serve a key role in protecting people from potential contamination and food illnesses caused by raw packaged meats coming into contact with other items. When fragile items, such as wine bottles, are placed in shopping bags together with other items, these bags offer an additional layer of protection.
Shopping bags in California are subject to a tax as well. Since 2016, when voters in California approved Proposition 67, consumers have been required to pay a minimum of 10 cents for a recycled bag or a reusable bag that is supplied to customers when they pay for their purchases at a store.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Daily Wire.
