Los Angeles Bans Plastic Grocery Bags

LA has a brand new bag - and it's reusable. The nation's second largest city has banned plastic grocery bags in an effort to keep its beaches and waterways cleaner.

Published

12 months ago

Categories

US, Science, Climate & Environment

Topics

United States

Places

California, Los Angeles

Tags

plastic bags, environmentalist

Transcript

Script[Location: Los Angeles, CA - May 30, 2012][Source: AP][NATSOUND/] Paper or plastic, sir?Next year, this is a phrase you won't hear anymore in Los Angeles. The city has joined several other major California cities with a ban on plastic grocery bags.[SOT/LINDA HESS, NON-PROFIT ADMINISTRATOR] "I have no problem with plastic being banned. It reduces waste and it doesn't end up in landfills or in the ocean. It's a petroleum product." :09Shoppers will have to bring their own bags to the checkout line, or pay 10 cents for a paper bag. Plastic bag manufacturers complained that the new law will make manufacturing jobs disappear.[SOT/GILBERTO MESA, Construction Worker] "We use them for the garbage, most of them, all the plastic bags." :04With environmentalists pushing for a state-wide ban on plastic bags, people are wondering how they'll line their garbage bins and pick up after their pets.[SOT/GILBERTO MESA, Construction Worker] "My sister recycles all the plastic, separate from the trash." :05[SOT/RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, ASSOCIATED PRESS] "Plastic bags are useful.Whether it's doggie doo-doo or dirty diapers. But environmentalists say we've taken plastic baggies for granted for too long. They're not really free or disposable." :??Heal the Bay says Californians use 12 Billion disposable bags per year, and only 5 percent get recycled. Sarah Sikich of Heal the Bay says reusing bags for household chores isn't enough.[SOT/SARAH SIKICH, HEAL THE BAY] "Unfortunately, the sheer volume of this problem - those people aren't making a dent in what's getting to our beaches. Plastic bags are consistently a top item found during our beach cleanups." :10These bags never decompose. And the cost of clearing them from waterways and beaches falls to taxpayers.But if remembering to bring an extra bag seems daunting, take some advice from Kate Lombardi, an advanced grocery bagger. She puts reusable bags in her car and by the front door, so she's never caught without at least one.[SOT/KATE LOMBARDI, Costumer] "I have a ton of bags at home that we use every week. It's kind of like they have babies - we have tons of them." :07And for all those other dirty jobs? Under the new law, produce bags, newspaper bags or dry cleaners bags are still allowed. And there's still six months to stock up before the ban goes into effect.RMD, the AP, LA.(****END****)