A PROPOSED ban on an item at self-checkout has left some shoppers up in arms.
The change would affect millions of Americans, leaving them paying an extra fee for the grocery essential.
Some Americans could soon pay more at checkout for a common item[/caption]
Plastic bags could get another ban in California[/caption]
Customers in California could be directly affected starting in September, as officials in Encinitas, about 26 miles north of San Diego, vote on Senate Bill (SB) 1053.
The bill calls for a restriction on plastic grocery bags at grocery stores and supermarkets in The Golden State and has a companion bill, AB 2236, with both receiving a floor vote at the California legislative session by September 6.
If it goes through, those stores that offer plastic bags at self-checkout and cashiered checkouts would stop immediately and start selling only recyclable paper bags and reusable bags.
The result would be shoppers paying an added fee for the reusable bags, which didn’t sit well with some.
“We don’t want this new ban on reusable plastic bags!” exclaimed a shopper, Lisa, in a post to X directed to California lawmakers.
“Just say no to SB 1053/AB 2236, the plastic bag ban!”
Lisa urged fellow shoppers to email or call lawmakers.
Her note about the plastic bags already being reusable refers to a 2016 bill already passed in California to limit plastic bag usage.
UNDESIRABLE OUTCOME
A loophole was found by many retailers to sell plastic bags with a thicker material advertised as reusable and recyclable when that wasn’t the case.
Nate Rose, director of communications at the California Grocers Association (CGA), said the move back towards reusable bags is needed after complications with the coronavirus pandemic, per KPBS.
Rose explained to the outlet that an executive order during the height of the pandemic was issued to halt the use of reusable bags over fears of spreading coronavirus further.
“There is a sense that people lost the habit of bringing their reusable bags from home,” he noted.
“And they were not reusing them. They were just using them once, which doesn’t really fit with the original intent.”
The thicker plastic bags also caused even more damage, as the amount of plastic bags at landfills in California is the highest it has ever been even since the bill in 2016, per a recent study.
There is a sense that people lost the habit of bringing their reusable bags from home.
Nate Rose
TAKING ACTION
An editorial board behind the findings urged California lawmakers to expand the proposed bills this year even further to include restaurants, farmer’s markets, and other retailers.
“As for plastic bags, we can and should deal with them sooner.”
Several cities and retail giants have made concerted efforts to limit plastic bag usage in recent years.
Aldi became the first major retailer in the United States to eliminate plastic bags at its stores in January.
It’s also transitioning to natural refrigerants in its stores by the end of 2035.
The U.S. Sun also has a full list of the states where plastic bags are either banned or limited.
