California is the first state to ban them by law

Several cities across the United States have outlawed plastics bags, but for the first time a bag ban has been signed into law on the states level. It has happened in California, where the governor Jerry Brown signed the nation’s first state-level ban on plastic bags.

Since the date of entry of the new law, on July first, 2015, single-use plastics bag will be prohibited and Californian will pay a minimum of 10 cents for each reusable plastic or recycled paper bag at grocery store. Reusable bags are defined by the law as those designed for at least 125 uses and made of at least 25 percent recycled plastic.

This measure, which could generate 1 billion in new revenue obtained from selling bags and which in 2016 will be extended also to pharmacies and liquor shops, has caused a fight between law’s opponents and supporters. Californian grocers teamed up with environmentalists on a push to make California the first state that bans plastic shopping bag, while Apba (the American progressive bag alliance), one of the key opposition group, plans to take the matter to the votes in a referendum on November 2016. In the opinion of the Apba’s executive director, Lee Califf, the vast majority of California voters are opposed to legislation that bans plastic bags and allows grocers to charge and keep fees on bags.