Voters in the US state of California have narrowly approved a ban on single-trip plastic carrier bags, known as Proposition 67 – see Plasteurope.com of 03.10.2016. At the same time, they overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 65, which would have seen the money raised from retailers’ sales of recycled paper bags and reusable cloth bags go to an environmental fund administered by the Wildlife Conservation Board.

A bill mandating the bag ban was signed by California’s governor, Jerry Brown, in August 2014 – see Plasteurope.com of 02.09.2014 – but its opponents, including out-of-state bag manufacturers, successfully leveraged a clause in the California state constitution triggering a referendum they hoped would throw the legislation out.

With the approval of Proposition 67, California will become the first US state to implement a statewide ban on single-trip bags. Under the terms, grocery stores and other selected retail outlets will be barred from handing out throwaway plastic bags, but will be permitted to sell recycled paper bags and reusable bags for a minimum fee of 10 US cents. Some 150 California cities and counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have already put restrictions on thin plastic bags.

Had both Proposition 67 and 65 passed, implementation of the former could have held up for years law due to litigation over conflicting measures, the ban’s proponents said. American Progressive Bag Alliance (http://plasticsindustry.org/apba), an organisation representing bag manufacturers, reportedly paid USD 3m to get Proposition 65 on the ballot – the same used for the 8 November US presidential election. This was widely seen as a ploy to confuse voters while doing little to help the environment, which could explain its rejection.