Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council applauded the California State Senate for passing SB 777 (Allen), which will provide much-needed transparency and accountability on plastic bag surcharge allocations, as required in SB 270 (Padilla – 2014). SB 777 requires retail establishments that sell plastic bags to submit an annual report to CalRecycle specifying the actual costs for implementing the provisions of SB 270, actual costs for providing the reusable bags, costs associated with a store’s educational materials or educational campaigns encouraging the use of reusable grocery bags, and costs associated with recycling.
Almost 10 years ago, California passed SB 270 (Padilla), preventing retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags in order to help protect California’s beaches, parks and the ocean from pollution. The bill clearly states that the stores that provide the bags may keep the funds collected in order to cover the costs of providing the bags, complying with the bag ban, or encouraging the use of reusable grocery bags through educational materials or an educational campaign. However, there is no transparency around how that money is being spent.
“Californians embraced the ban on single-use plastic bags to help ensure our environment is not polluted and kept clean for the next generation,” said Amber Baur, executive director, UFCW Western States Council. “SB 777 is a simple transparency bill to shine a light on how consumers’ money is used when they buy a bag at the grocery store. We’re glad the Senate saw the need for this bill and urge the Assembly to also stand with UFCW members and support this important bill.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2023
Contact: Jenna Thompson, 949.246.1620, [email protected]