Could Long Beach be the next city to ban plastic bags?
According to the Long Beach Post, the Long Beach City Council approved during a meeting last night the drafting of an ordinance that could very well mean a citywide ban on all single-use plastic bags at grocery stores, drug stores and convenience stores.
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While contenders argue that the ban could negatively affect local businesses by eliminating jobs, Heal the Bay reports that “California taxpayers spend millions to collect and landfill plastic bag
waste each year. That figure does not include external costs, e.g.
resource extraction and depletion, quality of life issues, economic loss
due to plastic bag litter.”
The Long Beach Post adds that there will indeed be exemptions for those
involved in the Supplemental Food Program of the California Supplemental
Food Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Long Beach is following in the footsteps of Washington D.C. and San
Francisco, as well as Los Angeles County's recently approved ban which
stipulates that while paper bags will still be available at stores, they
would also cost you 10-cents each.
