Sunday, September 5, 2010

California lobbyists for the plastic industry beat plastic bag ban

A plastic bar is clearly not something the California State senate wants considering the ruling on Wednesday. There were numerous people that supported the ban in The Golden State. These consist of grocers, Republican Arnold Schwartzenegger and retailers. Lobbyists for the plastic industry were hoping the ban would go via. Many people in the world use plastic bags. These are generally for groceries. Human health has changed into a concern since an incredible number of birds and marine animals are now being killed by plastic bags. Those opposed to the ban on plastic bags in California think it just gives consumers a burden.

Plastic bags in California a problem

The bill would have made California the first state within the United States to bar plastic bags at grocery, drug and some convenience stores. The public began noticing plastic bag hazards making it so the bill came about, says the Silicon Valley Mercury News. According to the environmental group Save the Bay, 1 million plastic bags pollute San Francisco Bay each year. 19 billion plastic bags are used by Californians, says the state official, each and every year. It costs the state $25 million to collect errant plastic bags and haul them to landfills. Yet the lobbying group American Chemistry Council, a coalition of corporations including Chevron, Dow and ExxonMobil, said the plastic bag ban didn’t make sense because it would cost $1.7 million to implement in a state with an $18 billion budget deficit.

Plastic industry tries to get on state politicians good side

In California, the plastic bag ban has opposition. This came from the American Chemistry Council mostly. The Miami Herald reports that the group, depending in Virginia, has become a fixture in The Golden State where it funds opposition to environmental bills and anti-plastic city ordinances. The council paid off politicians in the campaign. Also, it paid for TV and radio ads to run. In August at least seven state senators collected campaign donations directly from the council or its affiliates Exxon and Hilex Poly Co., a South Carolina plastic bag manufacturer.

Ban on plastic bags: yes or no

There was one purpose within the Golden State plastic ban. It was to get shoppers to start using reusable totes rather than plastic bags. Bans on plastic bags are already in place in some places in California. San Francisco is one of the places. Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, who authored the bill, told ABC News that it would be easier to change consumer habits than make an effort to clean up the mess. Republican senator Mimi Walters told ABC News that “If we pass this piece of legislation, we can be sending a message to the individuals of The Golden State that we care more about banning plastic bags than helping them put food on their table.”

The Great Pacific filled with the Garbage Patch

There was an estimate by the Environmental Protection Agency of how numerous plastic bags were made in 2008. Of those, 90 percent were discarded. According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States of America goes via 100 billion plastic buying bags annually at an estimated cost to retailers of $4 billion. 10 percent of plastic accumulates within the ocean, says a U.N. study from 2006. The Good Pacific Garbage Patch is what we call the place with one of the most there. It’s the size of Texas and contains about 3.5 million tons of trash.

More on this topic

Silicon Valley Mercury News

mercurynews.com/ci_15927563?source=most_emailed and nclick_check=1

Miami Herald

miamiherald.com/2010/08/26/1792991/californias-plastic-bag-ban-opponents.html

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/US/california-votes-plastic-bag-ban/story?id=11526792 and page=1



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