加利福尼亞發佈美國首個全州限塑令

The US state of California has passed the first statewide legislation in the nation banning single-use plastic bags.

The bags will be outlawed in grocery and convenience stores to cut down on litter damaging to the environment.

The bill, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, will take effect next July.

Plastic manufacturers have challenged the move, however, claiming it will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs and allow grocers to profit from new paper bag fees.

"This bill is a step in the right direction; it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself," Mr Brown wrote in a statementon Tuesday.

It also prohibits "stores from selling or distributing a recycled paper bag at the point of sale unless the store makes that bag available for purchase for not less than $0.10", according to the legislation.

Larger grocers, including Wal-Mart and Target, will be required to comply with the law beginning in July 2015, while convenience stores and food marts will have until July 2016.

Plastics trade group The American Progressive Bag Alliance had lobbied hard to stop the ban prior to its passage, but to no avail.

"If this law were allowed to go into effect, it would jeopardize thousands of California manufacturing jobs, hurt the environment and fleece consumers for billions so grocery store shareholders and their union partners can line their pockets," Lee Califf, executive director of the manufacturer trade group, told US media.

But the bill's supporters have argued extra fees can be avoided by using reusable bags when shopping.

Though California is the first US state to ban plastic bags, more than 100 cities - including Chicago and Seattle - have already outlawed them.據英國廣播公司網站報道，美國加利福尼亞州通過了第一個全州範圍的限塑令。

法律將禁止在雜貨店和便利店使用塑料袋以減少亂扔垃圾對環境造成的危害。

這個由加州州長傑瑞·布朗（Jerry Brown）簽署的提案將於明年7月起生效。

然而，塑料製造商卻反對這次運動，稱這將會削減上千個就業崗位，並使雜貨店從紙袋的費用中獲利。

布朗先生星期二在聲明中寫到，“這項法案是走向正確道路的一步，它減輕了塑料對海灘、公園，甚至海洋本身的污染。”

根據法律，商店禁止在出售商品的同時售賣或發放可回收紙袋，除非以不低於0.1美元的價格出售。

包括沃爾瑪(Wal-mart)和塔吉特（Target)在內的大型超市須從2015年7月起實施這項法律，而便利店和食品市場則從2016年7月開始。

塑料貿易組織美國包裝袋改革聯盟（American Progressive Bag Allianc）努力遊說，試圖阻止這項法律，但是毫無用處。

製造業貿易組織的執行理事李·卡利夫（Lee Califf）告訴美國媒體，“這項法律一旦被准許實施，將會危及加利福尼亞上千份製造業工作，還會破壞環境，嚴重剝削消費者，讓超市股東和他們的合作伙伴中飽私囊。”

而這項法案的支持者們爭辯道，購物時使用可再利用的購物袋可以減少額外費用。

儘管加利福尼亞州是美國第一個禁用塑料袋的州，包括芝加哥和西雅圖在內的100多個城市已開始立法禁止使用塑料袋。