A motion to draft an ordinance that will decrease plastic bag distribution and littering--possibly through a plastic bag ban and a fee on paper bags--passed a San Jose City Council Committee this week.  Stephen Baxter of the San Jose Mercury News writes that after ten years of unsuccessfully trying to recycling plastic bags in their curbside programs, the City may be ready for a ban:

City environmental services officials said on May 5 that San Jose's trash contractors have struggled to clean used plastic bags and to find steady buyers for recycled bags since curbside plastic collection began 10 years ago. With a lack of buyers, they said that half of bags collected for recycling in the city end up in landfills, and the ones that are recycled often are chugged to Asian buyers by diesel ship.

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CAW and Plastic Bags:

• CAW supports the San Jose ordinance and is sponsoring AB 2058 (Levine), which would require retailers to divert 70% of plastic bags by 2011 or be forced to charge a 25 cent fee on plastic.
• More about Plastic Bags

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is proposing the possibilty of making recycling mandatory in the city. This follows news that the city had attained a 70% solid waste diversion rate. A New York Times article details San Fancisco's aggressive waste reduction and recycling programs, which includes a green waste composting infrastructure.

Mayor Newsom feels that mandatory recycling is the only way for the city to achieve %75 waste diversion.

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AB 2058 (Levine) would require California retailers to demonstrate a 70% plastic bag recycling level by 2011 if they wish to continue freely distributing bags.

If the 70% recycling level is not met, retailers would be required to charge a 25 cent per-bag fee. The law also grants local governments increased authority to charge additional fees.

In order to ensure that AB 2058 will not substitute one type of disposable bag with another, AB 2058 would require retailers to charge an equal fee on paper bags by 2011.

AB 2058 must get out of Assembly Appropriations before it can be voted on by the full Assembly.

Additional Information:

• AB 2058 Language
• More About Plastic Bags

The U.S. House of Represenatives' Science and Technology Committee held a hearing today to discuss and review the current management of e-waste in the United States. This hearing was only a starting point to discuss possible federal e-waste legislation aimed at improving recycling programs for e-waste and developing products with fewer toxins.

Representatives from HP and Sony discussed their current recycling programs, including a representative from HP saying that it makes more sense for manufacturers to pay recycling fees when referencing the high costs to recycling. Even with their programs in place, it was noted that only 15% of HP electronics were recycled last year. In the US, less than 20% of discarded electronics are recycled according to the U.S. EPA. In California, that number is a little higher. Currently, 13 states have created recycling programs, including California.

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What You Can Do

• Learn more about California's e-waste law and other states e-waste laws.
• Find a place to properly dispose of your unwanted electronics.