CA plastic bag ban good for planet

editorial cartoon by Jacob Bogdanoff and Des Delgadillo
editorial cartoon by Jacob Bogdanoff and Des Delgadillo

California took the first step to prevent plastic from continuing to compromise the environment after Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB270, which bans the use of single-use plastic bags at convenience and grocery stores as well as pharmacies.

“This bill is a step in the right direction – it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, park and even the vast ocean itself,” Brown said in a recent news conference “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.”

The ban will take effect in July 2015 and prohibits stores from providing single-use carryout bags and will exist until the year 2020.

Retailers may charge a fee of more than 10 cents for a paper bag and may also sell compostable bags.

Then beginning July 2016, the bill bans convenience stores and food marts from providing customers with single-use bags.

California is the first state in the nation to fully ban single-use plastic bags, and hopefully sets the precedent for other states to enact similar laws. The ban is currently under scrutiny, but what many people don’t realize is that it is taking monumental steps to preserve our environment.

Plastic bags threaten our environment, and while there is no issue with people using them, there is an issue with what happens to them before and after people use them. Only 9 percent of the plastic that was used in 2012 was recycled, according the Environmental Protection Agency’s website.

The plastic that remains unrecycled inevitably ends up in a landfill and can release toxins into the groundwater, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

There is also the issue of plastic bags compromising marine life. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.

With such a large amount of plastic in the ocean, more than 100,000 marine animals and one million seabirds die each year from plastic ingestion or entanglement.

Governments around the world spend billions of dollars trying to clean up plastic debris, and the fishing industry also suffers when marine animals mistakenly ingest plastic bags, according to the EPA.

Even the biodegradable plastic bags still pose a threat to the environment. While it seems like a logical solution, these bags cause carbon to become methane, which is a greenhouse gas, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Although plastic bags are a convenience, they are detrimental to the environment, and the negative effects outweigh the need for their continued existence.

The Campus Times feels the Senate Bill 270 will improve the well-being of the California environment for the marine life and for the groundwater that is critically needed in this drought, which ultimately is essential to preserve for the overall well-being of Californians.

We hope the ban leads an example of proactive sustainability and expands beyond California to ultimately be adopted nationwide.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

Jacob Bogdanoff

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