LA Times Editorial - Plastic Bag Manufacturer Attacks AB 1998

In this Los Angeles Times editorial, the President of a California-based Command Packaging warns that the plastic bag ban (AB 1998) would put many of his employees out of work AND be bad for the environment by switching to paper bags.  Therefore, he argues that  we should just recycle and reuse plastic bags - not reduce production.

We see two major problems here:

1. Under AB 1998, not ALL plastic bags will be banned, plastic bags would only be banned at major retail establishments and even then only at checkout .
2. AB 1998 would not mean a switch from plastic to paper.  AB 1998 requires a 5-cent fee on paper bags, which discourages paper bags and encourages reusable bags.