June 02, 2010|By Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Sacramento — California would be the first state to ban plastic and most paper bags from grocery, convenience and other stores under a proposal that appears headed for a major legislative victory this week.
Shoppers who don't bring their own totes to a store would have to purchase paper bags made of at least 40 percent recycled material for a minimum of 5 cents or buy reusable bags under the proposal, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012. A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he supports the bill, which will be voted on in the Assembly this week and could go to a Senate vote this year.
The measure would go further than plastic bag bans in at least five California cities, including San Francisco.
San Francisco's ordinance applies only to chain supermarkets and pharmacies, but the state measure would bar the items from all food and convenience stores, and it would also restrict retailers from handing out free paper bags.
"AB1998 would ban all of the single-use bags that have been polluting our oceans and waterways and threatening marine life," said the bill's author, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica.
Californians use 19 billion plastic bags a year, and the state spends more than $25 million annually to collect and bury the items, Brownley said. Environmental groups said only 5 percent of the bags are recycled, a figure the plastics industry disputes.
"It's time for a uniform, statewide policy so consumers know what to expect wherever they go," she said at a news conference in Sacramento on Tuesday. She was joined by actresses Amy Smart, Rosario Dawson and Rachelle Lefevre.
Environmental groups have pushed the ban for years, noting the damaging effects of plastic bags on the marine environment, particularly for animals that ingest or are entangled in bags. Business groups, including those representing grocery stores and the plastics industry, have argued against similar proposals in the past.
The measure got a big boost, however, when Brownley secured the support of the California Grocers Association, which represents chain and independent supermarkets, convenience stores and mass merchandisers in California and Nevada.
Ronald Fong, the group's president, praised the bill as a "uniform statewide standard that will level the playing field" and make environmental gains "with the least disruption" to businesses. He said Tuesday that it is his group's No. 1 legislative priority this year.
引用來源:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-06-02/news/21653568_1_plastic-bags-ban-plastic-paper-bags
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後記:
前幾天加州已立法通過禁止零售業者提供消費者塑膠袋，消費者如果忘了帶購物袋，就必須自費購買可回收再利用的紙袋，該法自2012年開始生效。
最近幾年因為氣候的異常，使得各國對綠色產業的重視比例不斷的拉高，當然另外一個重要的原因是為了提高就業率，當各行各業都已趨於飽和的情況下，發展程度未深的綠色產業就相對的迷人。
國內方面，目前相關單位已經開始和連鎖業者協商，希望可以大幅降低每日大量使用後丟棄的手搖塑膠杯和塑膠製品，另一方面也推出一系列的減碳政策，就是希望透過立法規範和獎勵的方式，多管齊下降低碳排放。有些看出趨勢的龍頭企業早就已經開始自發性縮減或改變生產流程及運送流程，並刪除不必要的過度包裝，藉此逹到減碳目的，同時要求相關供應鏈廠商也必須同步調整配合，以便在消費者心中留下環保企業的形象。
國外方面，歐盟算是對環保要求最嚴格的地區，而中國和美國最近也是動作頻頻，特別是中國的動作之大，讓人有點跌破眼鏡，例如:對高能耗、高污染的產業不再審批並提高行政處罰，同時提高土地及用電的使用成本 ; 在山東德州市成立示範的太陽能城，終極目標就是”滿城盡用太陽能” ; 鎖定某些示範城市的進出只能開無碳電動車，看來中國這次減碳是玩真的。
繼電腦革命之後，下個世代將進入綠色革命，在消費者的環保意識越來越高的情況下，各行各業的產品及生產流程也必須要環保化，才能被市場所高度認同，"對環境友善、用料天然或不傷害人體健康、反璞歸真" 會是產品和服務的另一個賣點。。
Jill 
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