Single-use carryout bags: environmental effects: mitigation.

Existing law requires, until January 1, 2013, an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store. Existing law imposes various requirements on at-store recycling programs, including requiring a store to maintain records describing the collection, transport, and recycling of plastic carryout bags collected by the store. Existing law also requires, until January 1, 2013, the manufacturer of plastic carryout bags to develop educational materials to encourage the reducing, reusing, and recycling of plastic bags and make those materials available to stores required to comply with the program. This bill would instead prohibit, on and after July 1, 2010, a store, as defined, from providing a single-use carryout bag, including a green carryout bag, to a customer unless the store charges a fee of not less than $0.25 per bag at the point of sale. The bill would exempt certain customers from paying the fee. The bill would establish the Bag Pollution Fund in the State Treasury and, by January 31, 2011, would require a store that collects the single-use carryout bag fees to remit the fees, less a specified amount to be used as required, to the State Board of Equalization for deposit in that fund, and do so on a quarterly basis thereafter. This bill would instead require the manufacturer of a single-use carryout bag to develop educational materials to encourage the reducing, reusing, and recycling of single-use bags and make those materials available to stores required to comply with the program. The bill would require moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the Integrated Waste Management Board (board) as specified, including, but not limited to, for administrative costs, developing and implementing programs to encourage and support mitigating the environmental effects of single-use carryout bags, and payments to cities and counties for activities to reduce and prevent single-use carryout bag litter and the environmental impacts of single-use carryout bags. The bill would require the board to administer and enforce the single-use carryout bag provisions and would require the State Board of Equalization to administer and collect the fees imposed on those bags. The bill would require the board to submit a biennial report to the Legislature, in coordination with other state agencies and stakeholders, on the effectiveness of the program and recommendations to further encourage the use of reusable bags.