PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE EDITORIAL: …On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to make California the first state to ban single-use plastic bags at supermarkets and pharmacies beginning in July 2015, although it does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats. The prohibition will extend to convenience stores, liquor outlets and small food stores in July 2016. Where California leads, other states may follow.
This is not lost on plastic bag manufacturers. The American Progressive Bag Alliance, an industry coalition, is warning of dire job losses and promises to seek a voter referendum to overturn the ban. Because the law proposes that grocers charge a 10-cent fee for paper bags, paper bag manufacturers are against it, too.
But there’s a good reason for the ban. Plastic bags used for groceries are a major source of pollution, both on land and on the sea, where they are a threat to marine life. In landfills, they take hundreds of years to biodegrade… (more)
