California politicians continue their misguided war on plastic bags

Once again, California’s decision makers are jockeying for political attention — and consumers will pay the price.

Legislators have advanced Senate Bill 1053 and Assembly Bill 2236, seeking to eliminate all plastic bags at grocery stores and shops, forcing families to pay for paper bags or bring their own reusable bags.

These ridiculous policies are resurfacing nearly a decade after former Governor Jerry Brown signed the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastics, Senate Bill 270. Even then, experts knew the bill wouldn’t (and rightfully, shouldn’t) have the desired outcome of eliminating an affordable and convenient material. Many industry experts voiced their concerns with SB 270 as it gained momentum in the state legislature in 2014 and again during the 2016 voter referendum.

Many of us at the time warned that the legislation would impose enormous costs on California consumers — estimated at more than $1 billion in both direct and indirect costs while the available evidence suggests that it will do nothing to protect the environment. I think that we rightly saw this garbage policy for what it was — a way for politicians to recycle their outrage just in time for election season without actually dealing with the increased litter their previous attempts have exacerbated.

Solely relying on consumers to change their shopping behavior and incorporate reusing plastic bags is a highly risky approach to reach the state’s plastic reduction targets. If consumers choose not to reuse, the increased costs for manufacturers, recycling operations, and retailers will add more strain on California’s economy.

But here’s the real kicker: we shouldered all those higher costs, and it didn’t even work. In the aftermath of SB 270, research confirms between 2014 and 2021 plastic waste increased in California by almost 50 percent.

This unfortunate miscalculation has policymakers and activists scrambling to reshape the narrative, putting consumers once more in potential harm’s way. If SB 1053 and AB 2236 become law, another wave of unnecessary costs and requirements will shift to the consumer — this time through paper bags that will cost 10 cents per bag and require a higher percentage of recycled content.

If the main goal is to reduce plastic pollution, legislative bans are not the solution, especially when California is creating a new system of extended producer responsibility to account for plastic production and waste. Yet, those who are meant to serve in the best interest of Californians are more concerned with raising their political profile and making headlines, now targeting plastic producers as scapegoats rather than evaluating and improving our state’s recycling system.

A prime example of this is Attorney General Rob Bonta’s investigation into oil and gas companies for allegedly deceiving the public regarding plastic’s recyclability. Never mind that the state of California — responsible for waste management — has supported plastic recycling and invested in solutions for decades. If the government isn’t willing to take accountability for its role in this “problem,” then one has to wonder whether it’s actually a problem or just a political stunt.

Of course, Bonta has deep connections with organizations pushing for expensive climate lawsuits nationwide. These organizations have proven effective at distributing misconstrued information with sensationalized headlines. NPR, no stranger to scandal for its reporting bias, has played a key role in this effort, publishing decades-old quotes from studies without context to “prove” faulty arguments against the plastic manufacturers. Conveniently, NPR’s reporting left out CalRecycling’s decades-long commitment to manage discarded plastic through recycling.

California already pays higher energy prices than other states, and our rising cost of living is sending residents to other states in droves. Another political stunt targeting working men and women who are just trying to buy groceries isn’t the solution.

Lance Christensen is Vice President of Government Affairs at California Policy Center.