News Release

Senate Appropriations Committee Rejects 25-Cent Tax on California Grocery Bags

The Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council and
Statewide Consumer Groups Applaud Committee’s Decision

SACRAMENTO, CA (August 8, 2008) – A bill which would have placed a twenty-five cent tax on every plastic bag provided by a grocery store in California failed to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.  The Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council (PBA) and many statewide consumer groups opposed AB 2058 because it would have imposed a $4.75 billion tax on grocery shoppers.

The proposed twenty-five-cent-per-bag tax could have added upwards of $400 a year to the average family’s grocery bill. Many of California’s families are already struggling with rapidly rising food and energy prices, and this tax would have inevitably hurt the people who can least afford it, especially those shoppers who walk or take public transportation to the grocery store.
 
“We are pleased to see that the members of the Committee understand that many Californians are already struggling to make ends meet in our current economy,” said Shari Jackson, Director of the PBA. “There are better ways to protect the environment and reduce litter without punishing consumers, including further expansion of efforts to recycle, reduce and reuse plastic bags.  Some programs are already underway, including one created by AB 2449, a law that went into effect last year and mandates plastic bag recycling at larger grocery stores and certain retailers throughout the state.”

Jackson noted that plastic bags are fully recyclable, and that plastic bag recycling is on the rise, with 812 million pounds of plastic bags and film recycled nationally in 2006 – up 24 percent in a single year. Results from California’s new recycling efforts are just starting to come in, and PBA believes these programs should be given a chance to succeed before additional tax burdens are piled on to California consumers.

“We will certainly continue our role in encouraging consumers to use California’s state-wide recycling program and increase the recycling of plastic bags,” said Jackson.  “Plastics are a valuable resource – too valuable to waste – and we believe effective implementation of the State’s recycling program is the best and fastest way to steward environmental resources and reduce litter by recycling these bags.”