Come Aug. 1, Long Beach shoppers have to bring their own bags to the store or shell out money for paper ones.
Remember back in December when Vickie Chang wondered out loud on Navel Gazing whether Long Beach would be the next in a slew of cities, like San Francisco and Washington D.C., to ban single-use plastic bags? Well, the time is nearly upon us.
According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the city council had planned to postpone the start date for the ban, which was adopted in May, but decided to go ahead with the August 1 deadline once they heard that the businesses that would be impacted were ready to make the change.
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Shoppers can, of course, bring their own bags from home–even plastic ones. The stores can keep paper bags on hand, but the ordinance forces them to charge 10 cents per bag.
Although the change might be a slight annoyance for some shoppers, there's a group that's more than a little annoyed with the change: plastic-bag manufacturers.
California's Supreme Court ruled last week that an environmental-impact report isn't necessarily needed before banning stores from carrying plastic bags.
Environmental groups like Californians Against Waste lauded the decision, saying they were “delighted with this win and its implications for other local governments that want a plastic bag ordinance without the unnecessary hassle of a costly and time-consuming EIR.”
Ironically, the press release issued by the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, the group of plastic-bag manufacturers that lodged the litigation into motion, used the same exact word to describe how they felt about the Supreme Court's decision: “delighted.” Of course, they're probably not actually delighted, but so goes the wacky world of press releases.
The press release adds, however, “We will continue to demand EIRs.”
So, Long Beach residents, here are your two options: either ask to have everything double- or triple-bagged for the next week and then save those bags for the future or head to your local retailers for deals on free reusable-bag giveaways.
For a list of times and places where you can get your free bags check out Litter Free Long Beach's website and click on the “Reusable shopping bag give-away events” link.
While the ban starts Aug. 1 for big retailers, smaller retailers and farmer's markets have until Jan. 1 to implement the change.
