News

Martin’s provides benches throughout region

2013-05-20Richmond Times-Dispatch – Martin’s Food Markets, as part of its Bags to Benches program, has donated seven benches to organizations in the Richmond area. More than 12,000 plastic bags returned by customers are recycled into each bench, which has a value of about $600. Since 1997, 1,600 benches have been donated. More »

Reason-Rupe May 2013 National Survey

2013-05-17Reason – From San Francisco to Austin, city and county governments are banning various types of shopping bags. Yet, 82 percent of those polled say consumers and stores should determine the types of shopping bags available, while 15 percent say the government should decide. More »

Legislator opposes ban on plastic grocery bags

2013-05-14Los Angeles Wave – State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, has called for caution before continuing efforts to ban plastic grocery bags in the state. More »

Letter: Demonizing Plastic Bags the Biggest Hoax of All

2013-05-10Dana Point Times – Xavier Stevens wrote in a letter to the editor in the April 26 edition of the Dana Point Times said the use of plastic bags in the U.S. reaches over 100 billion per year, and the production of these bags requires 504 million gallons of oil.

Of course, this assertion is not sourced. More »

Editorial: Make bag ban a 3-time loser in San Clemente

2013-05-06Orange County Register – San Clemente council should decline, again, to make single-use shopping bags illegal. More »

Hot air over plastic

2013-04-27Boston Herald – There is something delightfully, charmingly trivial about the current effort by environmental zealots to ban ... plastic grocery bags. More »

Blog: Why I’m Fighting Against Plastic Bag Bans

2013-04-24West Hollywood Patch – When people ask me why I am fighting against plastic bag bans, the answer is simple--the information used to demonize plastic bags is wrong and our employees at Crown Poly deserve to know that we are willing to fight for their jobs and to get the facts heard in this debate. More »

Viewpoints: Should plastic bags be banned in California? No

2013-04-22The Sacramento Bee – Prohibition is a solution in search of a problem. More »

Guest Opinion: Rather than Increase Regulation, Let Us Find Solutions

2013-04-19Dana Point Times – With Earth Day upon us, I thought it timely to look at the result of Dana Point’s plastic bag ban that took effect April 1, and which I opposed. You may recall, City Council debated the issue for six months and ultimately passed a ban. I offered a substitute ordinance relying upon education, personal responsibility and strengthening our litter ordinance, which was rejected, even though it had the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Harbor Merchants Association. More »

Plastic Bag Debate Isn’t Cut And Dried

2013-04-19San Diego Union Tribune – The idea that plastic bags given out by retailers are terrible for the environment is pushed as an obvious truth by green activists, such as those who persuaded Solana Beach to adopt a ban last year. But the issue is more complicated than these advocates let on. As a bill by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, to establish a statewide ban that would supersede local ordinances advances through the Legislature, we hope that the issue gets a full review – not a show trial. More »

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Learn the Facts

  • Plastic bags are chosen by more than 90 percent of consumers at the checkout. About 9 out of every 10 consumers reuse these bags for everyday household purposes. More »
  • Plastic bags are recycled into building materials such as backyard decking, fencing and playground equipment. More »
  • Plastic bags make up a tiny fraction (less than 0.5 percent) of the municipal solid waste stream. More »