Editorial: Let Calif. plastic bag ban stand
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Dec. 5, 2014, Los Angeles Times.
Some people just don’t know when to stop fighting. Immediately after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the nation’s first statewide ban on disposable plastic bags, the plastics industry vowed to overturn it.
Since then, out-of-state bag makers have contributed $2.5 million to help collect 504,000 signatures by the end of the year to put a referendum on the November 2016 ballot reversing the ban, despite polls showing that it has widespread support.
Under the landmark environmental law, grocery stores and pharmacies are supposed to phase out single-use plastic bags by July 1; convenience and liquor stores have an extra year to comply.
But if the referendum qualifies for the ballot, the law is put on hold until after the 2016 election. That means another year and a half of plastic bags littering parks, rivers and beaches, and more plastic debris polluting the ocean and killing marine life. There’s no need for delay — Californians have already debated the issue ad nauseam and decided to ban the bag. Voters should just say no when asked to sign the petition for the referendum.