SHOCKER! LA Times Reports California's 'War on Plastic Bag Use Seems to Have Backfired'

Doug P. | 10:58 AM on February 14, 2024

In 2014 the state of California banned single-use carryout grocery bags:

The statewide ban on single-use carryout bags prohibits most grocery stores, large retail stores with a pharmacy, and convenience stores that sell food and alcoholic beverages from providing their customers with bags designed for a single use only, unless those bags are made with recycled paper. Instead, these stores generally must provide customers recycled paper bags or certified reusable grocery bags and must charge their customers at least 10 cents for each bag. The text of the bag ban statute can be found on the California Legislative Information page.

Fast forward a decade, and, as with every other great idea from the progressive Left, they didn't think it through:

Another green policy backfire:

California's plastic bag tax has increased the weight plastic bags thrown away by almost 30%.

Since bag taxes were enacted, plastic bags have been made thicker to qualify as being "reusable."

But consumers discard them anyway.

So Californians… pic.twitter.com/cNGvGBw8hD
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) February 13, 2024

Well, color us shocked!

California's war on plastic bag use seems to have backfired. Lawmakers are trying again https://t.co/KHcAKKiU6r
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 12, 2024

Do "progressive" leaders ever do anything that doesn't backfire?

According to a report by the consumer advocacy group CALPIRG, 157,385 tons of plastic bag waste was discarded in California the year the law was passed. By 2022, however, the tonnage of discarded plastic bags had skyrocketed to 231,072 — a 47% jump. https://t.co/KHcAKKiU6r pic.twitter.com/qtzzpsR67V
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 13, 2024

Nobody fails at thinking things through quite like the California Democrats.