Stores in Long Beach will be unable to distribute plastic bags to their customers and there will be a new charge for paper bags, beginning Aug. 1.
Stores with gross annual sales of $2 million or more and at least 10,000 square feet will be required to stop distributing plastic bags, according to longbeach.gov. Instead, stores will provide paper bags that must be 100 percent recyclable and made of at least 40 percent post-consumer recycled material.
The website also states that compostable and biodegradable plastic bags will be banned because of a lack of commercial composting facilities in the county.
“Under the ban, which is based on one that is going into effect this summer in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, the distribution of plastic bags would be prohibited at most grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, supermarkets, farmers markets and other retail stores that sell food and similar items,” the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.
“Heavier bags, such as those used by Target, wouldn’t be prohibited under the law,” it continued.
Stores offering recyclable paper bags will be required to charge 10 cents per bag in order to discourage shoppers from using paper bags as well, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
According to the city’s offical website, longbeach.gov, some people perceive paper bags to be just as harmful to the environment as plastic bags because their production requires a greater amount of energy and they are the byproduct of trees.
Longbeach.gov encourages shoppers to purchase reusable bags, explaining they are worth the investment environmentally and financially.
The website states that “our reliance on plastics is changing our natural environment in profound ways, eliminating important creatures in our food chain and polluting a major life-sustaining source for generations to come.”
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