This past November, California banned grocery and convenience stores from giving out free plastic bags. Shoppers now must bring bags or buy reusable or compostable bags to carry their purchases.
Why ban plastic bags? Americans throw out more than 100 billion plastic shopping bags each year. Wind can blow the lightweight bags out of garbage cans and into sewers, streets, and parks. In California, many plastic bags end up in the Pacific Ocean, where they can harm seabirds, fish, and other ocean life.
California is the first state to ban all free plastic bags from stores. But environmentalists hope that other states will follow its lead.