In an effort to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, many supermarkets have stopped shoppers from using their own reusable bags. In California, thin plastic single-use bags were banned, and paper ones come with a 10-cent charge.
But that's now been suspended...
“Reusable bags are perfectly safe, and pose zero threat to store employees and other customers as long as consumers take responsibility to bag their own groceries,” Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Thursday allowing those rules to be put aside for the next 60 days due to the pandemic.
He called the move “critical to protect the public health and safety and minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure for workers engaged in essential activities, such as those handling reusable grocery bags or recyclable containers where recycling centers are not available.”
Officials from the Plastic Industry Association and other groups have yet to comment on the new order.
Check out more details on the Los Angeles Times.