June 11 - Cathedral City Bans Single-Use Plastic Bags

Cathedral City has approved a ban on single-use plastic bags, joining nearby Coachella Valley cities including Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Indio and Palm Desert, and over 130 cities and counties throughout California.

The Desert Sun reports that "large retail stores would have six months after the ban’s final approval — which will likely come next month — to switch to recycled paper bags or reusable bags for their customers. Smaller stores, including supermarkets, drug stores and pharmacies, would have another six months to comply."

In 2014, Californians Against Waste sponsored a statewide plastic bag ban that was signed into law by Govenor Jerry Brown. The law was supposed to go into effect July 1, 2015, but was delayed by plastic bag companies from Texas and South Carolina that spend $3.2 million to qualify a referendum that is forcing the statewide ban onto the November 2016 ballot.

Since the law was delayed, California cities including San Diego, Sacramento and now Cathedral City have enacted local bans. To learn more about the statewide ban and the coalition of environmental and community groups supporting it, visit www.CAvsBigPlastic.com.