Recycled Canvas Bags to Replace Plastic Bags in L.A

The City Council of Los Angeles recently gave their final approval to the ordinance that stated a ban on plastic bags in the city. This has made Los Angeles the largest city in the United States of America to implement a ban on plastic bags.

The ban will come into effect from 1^st January, next year. It will be applicable only in large stores for the first six months, after which it will be applicable even in smaller stores.

Response to the ban

The council came to a conclusion by casting votes. 9 members of the council voted for the ban while Bernard Parks was the only one who was against it. According to the ban, customers will have to carry their own eco friendly bags like recycled canvas bags, reusable bags, and cloth bags among a few. In case they fail to do so, they can buy paper bags from the store for 10 cents. The stores will have to keep a quarterly record of the total paper bags sold by them, the money they receive, and their efforts in promoting reusable bags.

Activists have been in the favor of the ban as they feel it will help in keeping public places cleaner. They also said that beaches, drains, and rivers won’t get clogged with plastic bags anymore, after the ban. A total of two million dollars are spent by the city every year for the process of cleaning up the plastic bag litter. Some plastic company representatives complained that this ban will reduce the number of jobs in plastic companies. Others said that reusable bags are not healthy as they can carry germs and bacteria.

This ban is similar to the plastic bag bans in Los AngelesCounty, Santa Monica, and San Francisco. From July 2014, this ban will be applicable in liquor stores as well as independent markets which provide bread and milk.

Use recycled canvas bags, cloth bags, and reusable bags instead

The city Council is coming up with ideas to make the residents readily accept the ban. It is planning to give away around one million recycled and reusable bags to people who have low income. Also, women entitled to get food benefits from the Women Infants and Children Program will be exempted from this ban.

The money collected from the fee charged on paper bags will be used by the stores to make up for the price of the bags. It will also be used to promote recycled and reusable bags in the city.

Source: http://hollywood.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/la-city-council-passes-plastic-bag-ban_0364c276