Yeah, like I could pass this one up. I mean, the theory here is a good one, but the execution is lacking. It's just one more instance of stupid quotes coming out of people's mouths when a reporter is around. (Here's a hint: As a former reporter, I can assure you that we really enjoy the opportunity to make people look stupid in print - watch what you say to eliminate that pleasure from the job, okay?)
California's lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have been the first statewide ban on plastic shopping bags.
For a state in economic crisis, they chose to spend their time on this? Really?
The Democratic bill, which failed on a 14-21 vote late Tuesday, had drawn fierce opposition from the plastic bag manufacturing industry, which spent heavily on ads attacking the measure as a jobs killer.
Here’s a shock – a ban on just about anything will be a job killer. A ban on trash kills work release for prisoners. A ban on bad movies is a job killer for D-list actors. A ban on unhealthy foods is a job killer for anyone flipping burgers. You see where I’m going with this.
"Communities across the state were waiting for the state to adopt a uniform, statewide ban on single-use bags before they adopt their own ordinances. The state failed them."
If the communities can implement their own policies, why is this an issue? If you read further, a few communities even have.
Oh yeah, and when has California ever done anything but fail? I'm just sayin'...
The bill …would have barred grocery stores, large pharmacies and retailers such as Target and Walmart that sell food from offering plastic bags in 2012. The ban would have extended to convenience stores, drugstores and mom-and-pop shops in 2013. Consumers would have had to carry their goods in reusable bags or buy recycled paper ones at store cost.
Is it just me, or is reading about things in the future written in past tense just a little annoying? Oh sure, the bill didn’t pass so technically it’s past tense because these things will never happen.
Shennanigans.
We didn’t think the healthcare bill was going to happen. But Obama worked his Democratic-back-door-politic magic and – boom – it passed. So just because it was rejected doesn’t mean it’s dead forever. Especially when the Democrats are involved.
Environmental groups have long lobbied for statewide bans, but only local ones have passed. The California cities of San Francisco, Malibu, Palo Alto and Fairfax have approved bans, and North Carolina banned single-use plastic and non-recyclable bags last year in the Outer Banks. In January, Washington, D.C., began requiring grocery stores to charge a nickel for disposable grocery bags.
Charging for bags isn’t a new concept, there’s a store back in Virginia Beach that has done that for a long time – which is one of the reasons my mom didn’t like shopping there. But seriously people, bring your own or pay a nickel, it’s not that big a deal. I personally prefer the canvas bags, I can carry a whole lot more in fewer bags – but that being said, I do frequently forget to take them to the store. Getting charged for the crappy plastic bags might help deter that.
HOWEVER … the plastic bags are not just used once and thrown away – at least in my house. They are the poor-man’s lunch bag (when a nice, insulated lunch bag just isn’t your thing) and they are great for use when cleaning the cat pan. If people can’t find additional uses for these bags, they really aren’t trying. (Also make great packing material in a pinch.) Ohhh, or how about this?
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| Photo lifted from blogspot.craftzine.com. These plastic bag animals made out of discarded plastic bags and tied to subways grates. As the subway passes by, the plastic bag animal inflates |
Without a statewide ban, he said stores will face a potential patchwork of dozens of varying local ordinances that could cause "chaos and customer confusion."
I have worked with the general public, in a retail setting, and I don’t care what you do, there will always be chaos and customer confusion. Not a valid argument. Next.
"This issue is not going away," Fong said. "The future is in reusable bags. It's the right thing to do."
Man, I thought children were our future. This dude and Whitney really need to get together and hammer this out. This might cause chaos and confusion too.
To garner more support, Brownley also removed a provision that would have charged customers a nickel to buy a recycled paper bag. The revised version allows retailers to charge only what it costs them to buy the bags.
I don’t care if you are going to charge me a penny or a nickel or a dollar – ain’t happening. Roaches like those things and I don’t like roaches. Nope, nope, nope.
Despite the tweaks, the Virginia-based American Chemistry Council spent millions in lobbying fees, radio ads and a prime-time TV ad attacking the measure, reports the Associated Press. The group, which represents plastic bag makers including Dow Chemical Co. and ExxonMobil Corp, helped sink Seattle's effort last year to charge 20-cents for using each plastic or paper grocery bag,
Um, yeah, cause Dow Chemical Co. and ExxonMobil are going to go under if you take away the plastic bag manufacturing aspect of their operations.
Keith Christman, managing director of the group's plastic markets, says the bill will only exacerbate California's economic problems by putting 1,000 plastic bag workers out of jobs, taxing consumers for paper bags and creating a "bag police" at a time when teachers are getting furloughed.
Hey, you may be putting 1,000 plastic bag workers out of a job, but if you just employ them as the “bag police,” you negate that and the unemployment rate stays the same. Hallelujah, problem solved.
Given the state's severe woes, he says, "there are other things California can do."
Like fall into the Pacific Ocean?
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