Portland Bans Plastic Bags; California Pushes for a Statewide Ban

Just yesterday, Portland, Oregon unanimously adopted an ordinance that will ban plastic bags from major grocery stores, as well as some big box retailers. The ban is slated to go into effect in a matter of months and is part of a plan by lawmakers to make a statewide ban a reality. Kudos to Portland for becoming the latest city to ban the bag, an action that has been sweeping the nation over the last year or so. via Treehugger:

They're outlawed in cities like San Francisco and Fairfax, and many other cities -- Los Angeles, San Jose, etc -- are already forging their own bans. And that's just California: Plastic bag bans are slated to take effect in just a few months in cities in Texas, Alaska, and Hawaii... These bans and taxes mark good progress towards encouraging reusable shopping bags and cutting back on the flow of waste to the landfill.

California has been unable to pass a statewide ban or tax, but there's a groundswell of support to make it happen. Environment California has spearheaded a campaign called the Great Pacific Cleanup:

The Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas and still growing. Unless California does something about our plastic trash it will only get worse. That's why we're calling for simple steps to cut the waste that's fueling this enormous floating patch of trash. We're working to cut our use of plastic and Styrofoam. Nothing we use for a few minutes should be polluting the ocean for hundreds of years! That's why we're getting behind bans on Styrofoam takeout containers and plastic grocery bags at the local level, up and down the state.

Live in California and want to speak out against plastic bags? Take action here.