Politics

Plastic Bag Bill Ban Moves Ahead In Sacramento

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published May 31, 2010 at 11:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

The wind blows a plastic bag around the beach near the Manhattan Beach Pier August 21, 2008 in Manhattan Beach, California.

Editor's note: In our original story, we stated that the proposed law would ban paper bags. If the bill is passed, recycled paper bags would be available for a small price.

Plastic Bag Bill Ban Moves Ahead In Sacramento

A bill being considered by the California State Assembly Friday would enact a statewide ban on plastic and paper bags at grocery stores.

A bill being considered by the California State Assembly Friday would enact a statewide ban on plastic bags at grocery stores.

If passed and signed into law by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the legislation would prohibit supermarkets and convenience stores from distributing plastic bags. Recycled paper bags would be available for a reasonable price.

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The law would go into effect January 1, 2012.

It also requires retailers to offer reusable bags for sale.

Angela Howe is with the Surfrider Foundation. She said volunteers collected 71,000 plastic bags from state waterways during last year's international coastal cleanup day.

"Plastic bags are an eyesore," said Howe. "The plastic pollution affects 267 species every year and kills or injures 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year."

Howe said several California communities, including San Francisco, already have similar bans in place.

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But Howe said a statewide ban would provide a consistent standard.

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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