California’s Plastic Bag Ban Backfires as Green Exemptions Make the Problem Worse Than Ever

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After nearly a decade of the law being in place, the plastic bag ban in California seems to have backfired on the West Coast state, as it’s been found that even more plastic waste has been generated than before.

Now, close to nine years after the legislation went into effect in July 2015, plastic bag waste has increased to never-before-seen levels, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Times cited a report from CALPIRG, a consumer advocacy group, which found there had been a startling increase in the weight of plastic bags discarded in the state — from 157,385 tons in 2015 to 231,072 tons in 2022. That was a massive 47 percent increase in tonnage of discarded plastic bags, despite the law designed to diminish it.

The reason seems to be that the law permitted stores to sell heavier-weight “reusable/recyclable” plastic bags for 10 cents apiece.

That one provision ruined the entire purpose, now generating even more plastic waste than ever before.

“It was a conscious decision to create a pathway for a type of reusable bag that barely existed,” Californians Against Waste director Mark Murray told the LA Times.

“It was just emerging in the marketplace, but it happened to be made by a couple of California companies … which the manufacturers claimed they could certify as being reusable,” he added.

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