FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:August 14, 2014
Contact: Ioannis Kazanis 916-505-1891
STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN PROGRESSIVE BAG ALLIANCE ON CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE VOTE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH PROPOSED STATEWIDE PLASTIC BAG BAN
CHICAGO, ILL. – The American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA) issued the following statement from its executive director, Lee Califf, after the California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee voted to move a proposed statewide plastic bag ban, SB 270 (Padilla), on to a full Floor vote.
“The Assembly Appropriations Committee has made a shortsighted decision in supporting a bill that will hurt the environment, consumers and workers. This decision is a direct threat to the jobs of the nearly 2,000 hard-working Californians employed by the state’s plastic bag manufacturing and recycling industry.
“SB 270 would ban a 100 percent recyclable, California-made product, but mandate that grocers distribute and charge customers for paper bags and plastic bags that are five times thicker. SB 270 is terrible legislation that will kill California jobs, hurt consumers and enrich grocers with no environmental benefit.
“We continue to call on California lawmakers to vote no on SB 270 as misleading legislation that will kill manufacturing jobs and scam consumers, so grocers can collect billions in bag fees from their customers, without providing any public benefit.”
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About the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA)
The American Progressive Bag Alliance was founded in 2005 to represent the United States’ plastic bag manufacturing and recycling sector, employing 30,800 employees in 349 communities across the nation. APBA promotes the responsible use, reuse, recycling and disposal of plastic bags and advocates for American-made plastic products as the best environmental choice at check out—for both retailers and consumers.