Legislation

California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif.), like many members of the public, has become concerned with the results of studies which demonstrate the harmfulness of bisphenol A to consumers when it is present in food packaging. According to the Breast Cancer Fund's blog, Inside Prevention, Feinstein responded to the growing concerns of her constituency with a new bill which was proposed today. The BPA in Food Packaging Right to Know Act aims to make consumers aware of the products they purchase which contain the chemical. Writes blogger Janet Nudelman:

With the emergence of a number of scientific studies emerge regarding the health effects of bisphenol A, the case for bisphenol A's elimination from food products grows ever stronger. Recent studies have connected the chemical to a myriad of health problems, largely related to hormonal disruptions, and in light of these overwhelming studies, the case for eliminating bisphenol A from the food system has made it to Congress at last.

Despite a number of county and city level plastic bag bans that continue to appear with increasing frequency across the state of California, an effort to pass a bag ban into statewide law has died yet again at the hands of the Senate, KQED reporter Scott Detrow confirms. The recently defeated ban was only the latest manifestation of California's attempts to push a law limiting plastic use through the legislature.

California's legislators have a reputation for being environmentally aware and concerned, but Huffington Post blogger and environmental attorney Lisa Kaas Boyle paints a different picture of the supposedly "green" policies California politicians espouse. Boyle writes about a new Senate Bill with a familiar purpose, Senate Bill 405, which is the latest incarnation of the plastic bag ban bill which reappears regularly, and is consistently voted down.

The European Union is still debating the implementation of a plastic bag ban, but that hasn't stopped Finland from starting the process of changing attitudes single use bags, Finnish broadcasting company YLE reports. According to an article published on Monday, Finland has seen a 30% increase in the sales of reusable bags in the past year, alongside a growing general disapproval of single use bags. The article shares the opinions of a few Finnish shoppers, whose strong opinions regarding the use of disposable plastic bags support the spike in reusable bag sales:

The state of Massachusetts may be the first state in the United States of America to ban plastic bags if legislation currently being debated is passed, according to a report from NACS Online yesterday. The Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committee had a hearing on the House and Senate's proposed plastic bag bans during which no members of the plastics lobby came forward to speak out against the two versions of the legislation. According to the article:

Proposed legislation that would list bisphenol A as a hazardous chemical under California's Proposition 65 was stalled by a judge last Friday, who has granted a preliminary injunction to the American Chemistry Council's case against listing the chemical. This move effectively removes bisphenol A from the Proposition 65 list until a decision is reached.

An article from the Norwich Bulletin today has announced the existence of a new bill currently under review which would require that products containing bisphenol A be labeled before being sold to consumers in the state of Connecticut. A report from the Associated Press states that this new law would build upon pre-existing rules in Connecticut which prevent certain products containing the chemical from being manufactured or sold.

The California Grocers Association announced its support for a bill today which proposes banning plastic bags across the entire state -- a move which has given the bill a significant public boost. The bill, SB 405, was introduced by Senator Alex Padilla (D- Pacoima) and would prohibit single use plastic bags from being distributed in pharmacies and grocery stores beginning January 1st, 2015. According to a Los Angeles Times article written by Marc Lifsher, convenience and liquor stores would face the same requirements the following year.

California has become the latest state to acknowledge bisphenol A, or BPA, as a chemical with potentially carcinogenic properties according to a new decision which surfaced yesterday, reports the SF Gate News. Contributor Stephanie Lee writes that bisphenol A is being included in the list of chemicals designated under Proposition 65 as cancer causing. The bill exposes such chemicals and: