AB 1998: Sacking the bag

Even with support from a diverse coalition ranging from retailers, environmental groups, grocers, unions, state and local government, celebrities, labor groups, and reusable bag manufacturers, the State Senate failed to pass the widely touted AB 1998 (Brownley). A strongly mounted attack by the American Chemistry Council and a growing "Mod Dem Caucus" in the Senate dashed the hopes of many Californians to be the first state in the Union to ban the "urban tumbleweed" and chronic ocean polluter: the single- use plastic bag. As Mexico City, American Samoa and even provinces in China are added to the list of countries and regions that have already said no to plastic bags, California still looks for ways to get a handle on this environmental blight.