No longer an oasis of polyethylene in Santa Clara County, Gilroy joined the rest of the state in getting rid of single-use plastic bags, as California voted to ban the environmental hazard on Nov. 8, the first state in the nation to do so.Proposition 67, which put plastic shopping bags on the chopping block, was passed 52 to 48 percent and created a unified law for the state, which saw an increasing number of local jurisdictions take up the issue since San Francisco became the first city in California to ban plastic bags in 2007.“It’s for the environment, no plastic bags is okay with me; I can carry my stuff,” said Gilroy resident, Kaylee Amaro, who was seen carrying her shopping, a package of cookies, outside Safeway on Friday.Effective immediately, the plastic bag ban restricts food retailers, corner markets and grocery stores from providing single-use plastic bags. Recyclable paper bags can be bought for 10 cents each. The money collected is kept by the retailer. A competing measure, Prop. 65, would have directed the fees to be used for environmental activities, but it did not pass.Before last week’s vote settled the matter in California, 122 ordinances banning single-use plastic bags had been approved in the state, covering 151 county or local jurisdictions, according to Ballotpedia. That is nearly half of California.In Gilroy, a single-use plastic bag ban was discussed by the City Council, first in 2008 to support the Cities Association of Santa Clara County and again a few years later, but the council took no action.In April, Councilwoman Cat Tucker reintroduced the issue at a policy meeting, but it was not pursued by the council.Now, Tucker, who won re-election to the council on Nov. 8, said she had been expecting the proposition to pass.A poll in October showed 45 percent of likely California voters supported the ban, along with a wide swathe of businesses, unions and organizations. Prop.67 was also endorsed by Gov. Jerry Brown and local state Senator Bill Monning.“I am happy,” said Tucker. “I personally always bring cloth bags when I go grocery shopping.”The passage of Prop 67 ratified Senate Bill 270, banning plastic bags in the state, considered a landmark bill when Governor Jerry Brown signed it in 2014.The bill was shelved after a successful signature-gathering effort by American Progressive Bag Alliance, a lobby group for plastic bag manufacturers, stalled it in its tracks.The same group spent $6.14 million to fight Prop. 67, and despite raising almost double the amount raised by the Yes on 67 campaign, it failed to stop momentum to ban that had been building across the state.Now, shoppers in Gilroy will have to kick their plastic bag habit, just like others in Santa Clara County did in years past.Plastic bags were banned in unincorporated areas of the county, including San Martin, since 2012. Morgan Hill’s ban began on Earth Day (April 22) 2014. San Jose has been plastic bag free since 2011.Even though the writing has been on the wall for sometime now, the change caught some by surprise at the grocery store in the days after the election.“It’s hard when you have the two kids and are trying to carry everything,” said Noemi Santiago, as she left with her two young children and an armload of groceries from Safeway on First Street.The plastic bag ban will not just require a behavioral shift from Gilroy shoppers, but for some residents, a lifestyle shift as well.“I like the plastic bags because you can throw garbage in them and tie them up and throw them in the garbage can,” said Dotty, a Gilroy resident who did not want to give her last name.Exiting Safeway on Friday, Dotty’s shopping cart was filled with paper bags, but she said she will start bringing her reusables.“I have my own bags in the car, so I will start using those. I like a bag that you could wash. The ones they are selling for 25 cents are too flimsy.”And while Dotty will happily change her shopping habits, she did not vote for the proposition.“I can’t believe in this, I’m sorry, I just don’t. I didn’t vote for it,” she said. “And this global warming stuff—I don’t believe in that either. I mean, the world changes automatically. That’s the way God made it and it’s not because of me doing something. Even if it was, even if everybody in the United States didn’t use plastic bags, didn’t do this, didn’t do that, it isn’t going to do a darn thing because the other countries are not doing it. You think our air is going to be any cleaner than theirs? No. So it’s just another way to get our money.”According to the Center for Biological Diversity, there was more plastic manufactured in the first decade of the 21st century, than in all the years leading up to 2000, and single-use plastic bags have become a target for those concerned about the level of plastic pollution in the environment.Less than 5 percent of plastic bags are recycled in California, so the majority end up as litter or in landfills and they are not biodegradable. They are made from polyethylene, which takes up to 1,000 years to decompose.It is estimated that 100,000 marine mammals die each year because of plastic litter in the North Pacific, according to marine research organization Algalita. A recent report from UC-Davis found that marine birds are attracted to the smell of plastic and consume the shimmery material, mistaking it for food.
