Food shoppers could face plastic bag fees

Didn't we switch to plastic bags to save the trees!?!

Full article (here).

Two California bills that propose charging supermarket shoppers fees for using Earth-damaging plastic bags got one step closer to reality.

In a committee hearing Monday, the two bills merged, according to state officials. If passed, the unified bill (AB 2058) proposed by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine would charge grocery shoppers up to 25 cents per plastic bag used at supermarkets, drug stores and discounters such as Wal-Mart and Target.

Levine’s proposal required a 15-cent charge for each carryout bag, while a competing bill proposed a 25-cent fee for using plastic. The 25-cent proposal (AB 2829) was authored by Assemblyman Mike Davis of Los Angeles. His staff will work with Levine’s on the combined bill.

“This is a significant victory for the environment,” Levine said. “Plastic bags are imposing a considerable cost to the environment and to California taxpayers now shelling out $285 million dollars a year for clean-up.”