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California is leading the charge in the fight against plastic bags, with the state set to make them illegal.
California is setting an exemplary standard in curbing its dependency on plastic bags, which the rest of the world could do with emulating. It was recently reported that within the state, slowly but surely, everyone of its cities is taking important steps forward in becoming more environmentally friendly, realising that plastic bags are not essential to everyday life. The Huffington Post explained that with 38 million people living in California, even the smallest efforts to cut down on excessive plastic bag use is an amazing achievement and does a lot to make planet Earth greener. Plastic bags are notoriously tough and not biodegradable, meaning that if they end up as waste in the natural world, they not only look unsightly, but have a detrimental impact on the environment and on wildlife. According to California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, which brings together the state's recycling and waste management programs and continues a tradition of environmental stewardship, California uses an astonishing 12 billion plastic bags a year. "In California, approximately 247 million pounds—that’s 24 billion bags!—end up in landfills every year," it stated last year. "California spends approximately $25 million annually to landfill discarded plastic bags. Public agencies in California spend more than $300 million annually for litter abatement." If a new bill is passed in the state – AB 298 – plastic bags could be outlawed at grocery and convenience stores, ushering in a new age. “It’s a big deal for Surfrider and Environment California because plastic bags, if they get littered, chances are they are going to end up in the ocean over time," Bill Hickman of the Surfrider Foundation was quoted by the Santa Maria Times as saying. "Turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, which is common food for them. They are ingesting them and dying, so plastic bags, foam foodware and other non-biodegradable plastics are impacting wildlife." |
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