California’s 2014 ban on thin plastic grocery bags has led to more plastic bag waste, not less, according to the Wall Street Journal. [emphasis, links added]
Breitbart News reported on the fight over plastic bag bans in 2014 — the first of any state in the U.S. — noting The ban is a regressive tax on consumers that would benefit large grocery chainswho can For heavier, government-approved plastic bags, 10 cents per bag In theory, they are more reusable than thinner ones.
Ten years later, the amount of plastic bag waste per capita in California increased by nearly 50%. this Magazine notes:
Specifically, the weight of plastic bag waste per capita increased after the initial ban was passed. Even a study by environmental and public interest groups called “Working on a Plastic Bag Ban” tabulated a table showing that the number of plastic bags discarded per 1,000 people in California rose from 4.08 tons in 2014 to 2021. 5.89 tons.
When the ban on thin single-use plastic bags comes into effect, shoppers will have to choose between paper bags or heavier multi-purpose plastic bags. But many people apparently don't reuse these thicker plastic bags as often as politicians imagine, leading to an overall increase in plastic waste. As a solution, the state Assembly and Senate are now taking action to crack down on these bags, which have been allowed for the past 10 years.
However, the bill does not cover sturdy, reusable bags made from nonwoven polypropylene (NWPP), which feel like canvas but are actually made of plastic. Grocery stores wouldn't mind if the government banned other bags as long as they could sell them for about a dollar or two each. But as New Jersey discovered when it passed its plastic bag ban, NWPP also ended up in the trash, and plastic consumption increased.
Vice President Kamala Harris —Who’s from California— Support similar bans, including a ban on plastic straws, which have no proven environmental value and produce paper straws that consumers dislike.
California is proud of it The first country to adopt “progressive” policies hopes other countries will follow suit.
But little attention has been paid to whether these policies are effective or, as in this case, have the opposite effect.
The same goes for housing subsidies.
Harris proposed providing first-time homebuyers with down payment subsidies of up to $25,000.
but as Magazine Separately: “No state spends more on housing than her home state of California, yet its home prices are among the highest in the nation. Due to various regulations, it costs more than $1 million to build an “affordable” home in the Golden State.“
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