Plastic utensils and bags are once again up for debate among lawmakers.
La Mesa City Councilmembers talked about banning certain plastics at restaurants. That discussion comes with a new push for a statewide ban on all plastic bags.
While some shoppers enjoy the convenience of plastic bags, some say they understand the environmental hazards.
“If we had to go to buy a bag for $.99, it's not going to hurt," said shopper Marlon Cook. “It will help with pollution. “
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Because of those concerns, a new bill announced last week would ban all plastic bags at grocery stores in San Diego and across California.
State Senator Catherine Blakespear is among the legislators and organizations pushing for a statewide ban.
“It goes into our landfills, it goes into our oceans, it goes into all, everything we eat. So this in effect is clogging our sewage drains, contaminating our drinking water, degenerating into these toxic microplastics that fester in our oceans."
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If this all sounds familiar, that's because voters approved California's statewide ban on plastic bags eight years ago.
But that didn't apply to most plastic bags in stores today, because they're made partially of recyclable materials and are classified as reusable since they're made out of thicker plastic.
And therein lies part of the problem, the thicker plastic.
According to a report from CALPIRG-- an advocacy group pushing for the statewide ban-- there were more than 231,000 tons of plastic bag waste dumped in 2022, versus more than 157,000 tons the year the ban took effect.
La Mesa City Councilmembers voted Tuesday night to form a committee to study creating an ordinance that would limit the use of single-use plastics and other products at restaurants and businesses.
“We need to prevent poisons from going into our bodies and our family members," said Councilmember Patricia Dillard
Despite the concern, it’s an issue some say isn’t worth regulating.
“If people don't recycle it’s a bad thing, if they do it's fine," said La Mesan, Mike Reyes. “ They need to take it easy on legislation and do something more worthy of time than what we do with plastic bags."
If approved the ban would take effect in 2026. California is one of 12 states that have some statewide plastic bag ban in place.
