A decade ago, California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags. But that led to a loophole that's getting us away from a green future.
It has to do with the density of the bag, and whether it's reusable.
Turns out that there was a section of the law that let grocery stores and large retailers charge a dime for plastic bags.
Aside from the charge, the bigger issue is they made thicker and heavier-weight plastic bags that were intended for customers to be able to reuse.
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People didn’t want a reusable plastic option, they wanted less plastic.
Not to mention, unless it’s a canvas tote, most people wouldn't look at those thicker plastic bags as reusable.
The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), which advocates for environmental solutions, recently released a report called Plastic Bag Bans Work, here is what they found.
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“Which found that well-designed plastic bag bans are effective at reducing litter, and are expected to reduce the number of plastic bags used in the state by 300 per person per year," said Jenn Engstrom, state director for CALPIRG. "Now the key here is the well-design so we want to make sure that our bag bans are actually banning single-use plastic belt bags which we learned in California is not necessarily the case ... There are these plastic bags out there that really don't look like reusable bags, they look like they're designed to be single-used so people are just throwing them away or trying to recycle them but they are not really recyclable."
Scientists have found plastics everywhere from the ocean to the highest mountain peaks, and even in things we eat and drink. If we don’t make a change there will be more plastic than fish by weight by the year 2050, according to the United Nations.
For perspective, 5 trillion bags are used every year around the world -- the average time these bags are actually in use is only 12 minutes.
A new bill in the works would close the loophole and ban plastic bags altogether. If passed, that would go into effect in 2026.
For more on the states single-use plastic bag ban, click here.
