If you are heading to Long Beach, you would better carry some reusable bags with you. The city council of Long Beach passed a two year ban on plastic bags in the year 2011. This ordinance banned single use plastic bags completely and also placed a minimum price requirement of ten cents for paper bags.

Residents Reaction Towards the Plastic Bag Ban

Long Beach is the largest city in Los Angeles County with a plastic bag ban. These single use plastic bags were phased out gradually from this city which is home to almost 500,000 people. This ban was imposed with the view to tackle the plastic debris which was finding its way to landfills and oceans, posing a threat to the environment.

People have their own views about this two year old ban and the way it has affected their lives. Vernetta Foote, a resident says that they don't like it, but follow it because it is the law. One store had violated the law in 2011, but in reality none of the stores were really happy with the law. The Styrofoam containers that have replaced plastic bags are also single use and cannot be recycled.

Robert Balthasar, another resident of Long Beach, is of the opinion that this ban is simply another tax along with the ones that are imposed on the residents of the city. He thinks that this practice will have a minimal impact on the protection of environment. He added that water bottles and gulp containers found on all streets are more of a problem than plastic bags, which citizens use responsibly in any case. A better idea would be to make use of wholesale reusable bags.

Raquel Jubran feels that this ban really doesn't help anyone as she used plastic bags from stores to line her trash cans and now she has to, but plastic bags for the same purpose. She also has to pay for the bags she gets from stores, which are of plastic, after all.

Promoting Wholesale Reusable Bags During the Plastic Bag Ban

Grocery stores and all other stores could make use of wholesale reusable bags so that citizens don't regret paying for them. It is also the duty of the residents to support the ban on plastic bags so that the environment stays clean and green.

Such efforts cannot be successful unless citizens support them completely. They must come forward and adopt alternate means like reusable bags to make their shopping easier as well as eco-friendly. There are plenty of reusable bags which are not only environment friendly, but look trendy also.

Source: http://www.presstelegram.com/opinion/20131125/plastic-bag-ban-readers-weigh-in-on-how-theyre-faring