SACRAMENTO - Should California become the first state to ban plastic bags?
One of the state's top environmental officials embraced the idea Tuesday, citing the devastating impact on marine animals, which die after ingesting plastic bags or becoming entangled in them.
Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman is head of a cabinet-level panel - the California Ocean Protection Council - that is mulling over a list of proposals, including the bag ban, to improve the health of the ocean. While the panel has no power to impose such a prohibition, its recommendation would give the idea a tremendous shot of momentum.
Other ideas under consideration include imposing fees or regulations on producers of plastic food packaging, another big contributor to ocean debris, and cracking down on beach litter such as cigarette butts.
"There is no question these kinds of steps are critical if we're going to address the issue of marine debris in a serious way," Chrisman said in a statement.
The notion of banning plastic bags is clearly spreading: Several cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, have adopted measures to severely restrict them. San Jose officials are currently working with business owners on a plan to phase them out. Plastic-bag use in Ireland has plunged 95 percent since that country adopted a tax on their distribution in 2002, according to research conducted by the council.
At the state level, a bill pending in the Legislature, AB 2058, would require retailers to recycle 70 percent of plastic bags by 2011 or face a 25-cent-a-bag fee.
It remains to be seen whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign that legislation if it reaches his desk, or support an outright ban. But for a governor who has staked his legacy on his environmental policies, it could prove tempting.
Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for the governor, would only say that Schwarzenegger believes the proposals to cut plastic waste are "important" and "need to be discussed and debated."
The Ocean Conservancy estimates that plastic debris kills 1 million seabirds and 100,000 other animals worldwide each year. Turtles often mistake the bags for jellyfish, one of their main food sources.
"Given the enormous impact of plastic on marine life, this would have landmark international implications for the health of the Pacific Ocean," said Warner Chabot, a vice president at the conservancy.
Critics say recycling plastic bags should be given more of a chance to work before the state moves to an outright ban. Replacing plastic bags with paper would carry its own environmental risks, said Tim Shestek of the American Chemistry Council.
"Plastic bags take 70 percent less energy to manufacture" than paper, he said. "It takes seven trucks to deliver the same amount of paper bags as plastic. In this era of climate change, that's something that has to be taken into consideration."
Drew Bohan, the executive director of the Ocean Protection Council, countered that the goal is to wean people off plastic and paper bags, and encourage them to use canvas or other reusable sacks instead.
The Ocean Protection Council is set to take up the plastic proposals Sept. 11. If adopted, the measures would need to be enacted with legislation to take effect.
On a related front Tuesday, Schwarzenegger announced an initiative with the governors of Oregon and Washington to promote the health of West Coast ocean ecosystems.
Contact Mike Zapler at firstname.lastname@example.org or (916) 441-4603.