Today we’re one step closer to a cleaner, more sustainable, less plastic-y California.
State Senators and environmental champions Alex Padilla, Kevin de León and Ricardo Lara led the charge today in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, testifying about their bill to phase out wasteful single-use plastic bags in California, SB 270. They were joined by grassroots environmentalists who spoke to the harm done to marine and urban environments and local economies by plastic bag pollution and blight. The bill passed the committee and now heads to Assembly Appropriations.
The critical committee vote came just as plastic bag manufacturers launched a well-funded lobbying effort including television advertisements against the proposal. Although their flimsy bags aren’t easily recycled, out-of-state plastic bag makers like Hilex Poly are expert at reusing and recycling their claims about the numbers of jobs that will be affected. Bills to phase out plastic bags statewide have been introduced several times before, including last year by Senator Padilla, only to be killed by the plastic and chemical industries.
This year’s bill is a testament to the hard work of Padilla, de León and Lara to forge a compromise that could win not only passage in the legislature, but support from other previously unlikely allies including manufacturers of plastic bags. Watch their inspiring comments about their bill in a video from an event held earlier this year at Command Packaging, a plastic bag manufacturer and recycler whose owners and workers support this important transition to a more sustainable California.
Kevin de León worked to bring diverse stakeholders in the plastic bag debate to the table to figure out potential solutions, successfully reaching out to environmental advocates and the local manufacturing industry to minimize economic hardships and come up with creative solutions. According to Southern California Public Radio:
Pete Grande, CEO of Command Packaging, said he and de Leon had met last year to discuss how they might both support the objective of Padilla’s bill without losing jobs at the Vernon plant.
Grande said his company would shift its production to recycling plastic used in agricultural fields to create reusable bags that would meet state standards and that could themselves be recycled into new bags. Some 100 tons of agricultural plastic film is dumped into landfills each year, de Leon said.
“This plastic bag ban is a win-win for the environment, for California manufacturing and for jobs,” said Senator de Leόn. “We need to balance the health of the planet with the preservation of people’s livelihoods and recognize the economic conditions faced by businesses in California. This compromise will bridge the gap and help move the economy forward into a green future.”
Senator Lara said the bill’s provisions to retrain workers and retool plants were essential to his support: “As we continue to see our economy get better, we cannot forget that manufacturing is key to making California strong.”
Predictably, bag ban opponents are aggressively targeting SB 270, as well as author Padilla, who is a candidate for California Secretary of State (CLCV has endorsed him in this race). According to the Sacramento Bee, one plastics industry group called the “American Progressive Bag Alliance” (note the ridiculous front group title) has spent almost $646,000 lobbying in Sacramento since 2012. The Bee says the group is “launching an all-out fight” against the bill but Padilla is steadfast in countering their claims:
In the new version of the bill, Padilla worked to reduce potential job losses by creating the grant program for California factories to change their products and retrain workers.
The opposition that remains, Padilla said, comes largely from plastic bag companies based in other states. He denied the allegations in the ad.
“I don’t agree, but I understand their economic interests,” Padilla said.
“Just like Texas oil companies don’t like our air-quality environmental-protection laws in California, it’s no surprise that out-of-state plastic bag manufacturers are not fans of this legislation as well.”
More than 90 California cities – including Los Angeles and San Francisco – have already banned plastic grocery bags. The grocery association supports Padilla’s bill, arguing that stores would be better off working under one policy that is uniform across the state, rather than the mishmash in effect now.
Senators Padilla, de León and Lara fought hard for their bill and for the values of their constituents to phase out plastic pollution and waste, and today SB 270 passed with five members of the Natural Resources committee–the majority–voting “Aye.” The proposal now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Read more about SB 270, then take action to support this move to rid California of wasteful single-use plastic bags!
