June 19, 2024
The Honorable Isaac Bryan
Committee on Natural Resources
California State Assembly
1021 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: SB 1053 (Blakespear) Solid waste: reusable grocery bags: standards: plastic film prohibition –
SUPPORT
Dear Chair Bryan,
On behalf of the below city and county officials, we write in strong support SB 1053 (Blakespear), which ends the use of thicker plastic bags in grocery stores and convenience stores and reduces California’s dependency on plastic. In 2014, California passed the nation’s first ban on plastic bags. SB 270 (Padilla) required all plastic bags used in grocery, convenience, and retail stores that include grocery, to be reusable. After a decade under SB 270, it has become clear that California has not eliminated plastic grocery bags. The standards for reusable bags have resulted in exempt bags that are still made of thicker plastic, high-density polyethylene, or HDPE.
However, relatively few consumers re-use these exempt plastic bags for shopping. Investigative reports found that even when the ybags were returned to the store for recycling, many still found their way to landfills.1 CalRecycle’s statewide residential disposal reports suggest that over 5 billion bags in this category may have been landfilled in 2021, marking a cutc xqZer significant reversal from several years of declining disposal. Since 2018, plastic bag waste by weight in California actually increased from 139,00 tons to 231,000 tons, which is the highest level on record.2 SB 1053 would eliminate the existing exemption of plastic film bags and require grocery and certain retail stores to no longer provide these bags to their customers. Further, SB 1053 increases standards for reusable bags to ensure they are not replaced by a new version of an HDPE bag with plastic film material, or a non-plastic bag that can be easily damaged and is not durable. Lastly, SB 1053 increases the recyclability standard of paper bags to be made from 50% post-consumer recycled materials.
Given that cities are preempted by SB 270 from banning thick plastic bags, cities have had to bear the financial and logistical burden of managing this issue, without having the power to address it on a local level. Most -if not all- of California recycling centers do not even accept HDPE bags for recycling. The Los Angeles Times reached out to municipal and city recycling centers across the state and were “unable to find a single one that accepts HDPE bags for recycling.”3
3 Carrol, Tom. (2024, Feb 21). Did California’s plastic bag ban make plastic waste a bigger problem? Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/environment/plastic-bag-ban-waste-404-123 2 Sokolow, L., Meiffren-Swango, C., and Engstrom, J. (2024, January). Plastic Bag Bans Work. https://pirg.org/california/edfund/resources/plastic-bag-bans-work/ 1 Gutman, M., Simon, E., Park, C., Simpson, T., Kofsky, J., Schlosberg, J., Brooksbank, T., Yamashita, S., & Kim, S. R. (2023, May 23). We put dozens of trackers in plastic bags for recycling. Many were trashed. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/put-dozens-trackers-plastic-bags-recycling-trashed/story?id=99509422 Attachment 1
From production to disposal, plastic waste is detrimental to the environment and human health. Plastics are primarily made from fossil fuels, and the extraction and refinement of fossil feedstocks for plastics release an array of toxic substances into the air and water, including known carcinogens and neurotoxins.4 Upon disposal, plastic does not biodegrade, and toxic chemicals released from plastics damage soil quality and leeches into groundwater. Plastic bags are one of the most found pollutants in our seas5, and marine life ingests microplastics that are detrimental to their health.6 Therefore it is necessary to curb California’s plastic production as much as possible to preserve our environment and health.
For these reasons, we support SB 1053 to reduce plastic waste in California by closing the exempt bag loophole at grocery stores and retail grocers to further a sustainable future.
Sincerely,
The below city and county officials
6 Understanding plastic pollution and its impact on lives. United Nations. (2023, June 5). https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-2023/understandingplastic-pollution-and-its-impact-lives#:~:text=Unlike%20other%20materials %2C%20plastic%
5 Merran, J. (Ed.). (2018, June). Building A Clean Swell: 2018 Report. Ocean Conservancy. https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FINAL-2018- ICC-REPORT.pdf
4 The Plastics Production Problem. Center for Biological Diversity. (n.d.). https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/plastic-production/index.html Attachment 1
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
Mayor
Alameda
David Oro
Vice Mayor
American Canyon
Stacy Miles Holland
Councilmember
Atherton
Jorgel Chavez
Councilmember
Bell Gardens
Michael Brownrigg
Councilmember
Burlingame
Donna Colson
Mayor
Burlingame
Sergio Lopez
Vice Mayor
Campbell
Elizabeth Alcantar
Vice Mayor
Cudahy
Yasmine-Imani McMorrin
Mayor
Culver City
Freddy Puza
Councilmember
Culver City
Michael McCorriston
Councilmember
Dublin
Kashef Qaadri
Councilmember
Dublin
Carlos Romero
Councilmember
East Palo Alto
John J. Bauters
Councilmember
Emeryville
Scott Bauer
Councilmember
Eureka
Jenny Kassan
Councilmember
Fremont
Jay Vandenburg
Councilmember
Galt
Daniel Brotman
Councilmember
Glendale
Paula Perotte
Mayor
Goleta
Harvey Rarback
Vice Mayor
Half Moon Bay
Alexandre Monteiro
Councilmember
Hawthorne
Angie Reyes English
Councilmember
Hawthorne
George Syrop
Councilmember
Hayward
Chris Herrod
Councilmember
Healdsburg
Ariel Kelley
Councilmember
Healdsburg
Justin Massey
Mayor
Hermosa Beach
Leslie Marden Ragsdale
Councilmember
Hillsborough
Rolan Resendiz
Vice Mayor
Hollister
Kathleen Treseder
Councilmember
Irvine
(Title for Identification Only)
Maria Pacheco
Mayor
Kerman
Susan Candell
Councilmember
Lafayette
George Weiss
Councilmember
Laguna Beach
Attachment 1
Jack Shu
Councilmember
La Mesa
Jose A. Moran
Mayor
Livingston
Janice Hahn
Board Supervisor
Los Angeles
Juan Muñoz-Guevara
Councilmember
Lynwood
Dennis Rodoni
Board of Supervisors President
Marin County
Brianne Zorn
Mayor
Martinez
Eduardo “Eddie” De La Riva
Mayor
Maywood
Wendy Root Askew
Supervisor
Monterey County
Teresa Onoda
Mayor
Moraga
Katherine Aleman
Councilmember
Norco
Rachel Farac
Councilmember
Novato
Christine Boles
Councilmember
Pacifica
Tygarjas Twyrls Bigstyck
Councilmember
Pacifica
Felicia Williams
Councilmember
Pasadena
Shivaughn Alves
Councilmember
Patterson
Kevin McDonnell
Mayor
Petaluma
Jen Cavenaugh
Mayor
Piedmont
Valeria Arkin
Councilmember
Pleasanton
Elizabeth Ontiveros-Cole
Councilmember
Pomona
Zein E Obagi Jr.
Councilmember
Redondo Beach
Kaia Eakin
Councilmember
Redwood City
Gayle McLaughlin
Councilmember
Richmond
Susan Hollingsworth Adams
Mayor
Rohnert Park
Caity Maple
Vice Mayor
Sacramento
Patrick Kennedy
District 2 Supervisor
Sacramento County
Tarrell Kullaway
Vice Mayor
San Anselmo
Mark Enmeier
Mayor Pro-Tem
San Clemente
David Cohen
Councilmember
San Jose
Sarah Zarate
Director of Administration,
Policy, and Intergovernmental
Relations
San Jose
Xouhoa Bowen
Councilmember
San Leandro
Laura Capps
Supervisor
Santa Barbara County
Joan Hartmann
District 3 Supervisor
Santa Barbara County
Attachment 1
Das Williams
1st District Supervisor
Santa Barbara County
Lisa Gillmor
Mayor
Santa Clara
Otto Lee
District 3 Supervisor
Santa Clara County
Felipe Hernandez
Supervisor
Santa Cruz
Manu Koenig
1st District Supervisor
Santa Cruz County
Oscar de la Torre
Councilmember
Santa Monica
Lesa Heebner
Mayor
Solana Beach
Kristi Becker
Councilmember
Solana Beach
Jill W. MacDonald
Councilmember
Solana Beach
David Zito
Councilmember
Solana Beach
James Coleman
Mayor
South San Francisco
Larry Klein
Mayor
Sunnyvale
David Polivy
Mayor
Truckee
Scott Sakakihara
Councilmember
Union City
James Breitling
Mayor Pro Tem
Upland
Charles Palmares
Councilmember
Vallejo
Elizabeth “Lise” Talbott
Councilmember
Waterford
Debora Fudge
Councilmember
Windsor
Attachment 1