LA County Cans the Bag!

Great news - the presence of progressive thinkers (or fed-up urban-trash observers) exist in greater Los Angeles County!! AND they have voted to stop allowing retail stores from even offering plastic take-out bags, while enforcing a ten-cent charge for paper bags. Whoa - GUTSY - take that, Sacramento==>>>Wa-BAM!

Like all moves like this - we are in the initial phase: The final ordinance will be drafted and voted on next week, and if approved then, the ban will go into effect on July 1, 2011, for some stores and January 1, 2012 for all stores.

This ordinance is mildly complicated in that it only covers the "unincorporated" areas of LA County. The LA Times article has a great map showing the coverage area. The Fresno Bee offers some other fun insight.

Of course, the leading advocates of the scourge of urban and environmental garbage, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), is threatening to sue the unsuspecting souls of LA in order to continue their assault on the environment (and to maintain the constant fire hose flow of $$$ into their bank accounts)...so stay tuned on that tip.

The whole macadamia was put into neat perspective by Heal The Bay's Mark Gold when he said, "The cost of convenience can no longer be at the cost of the environment for centuries to come."

Amen, hallelujah, HOT-DIGGETY!




[The above image is from a non-Surfrider-affiliated bag retailer, check them out here .]