However, it will not be an immediate effect. The new law will apply for large grocery chains and pharmacies beginning July 1, 2015 and will extend to convenience stores and liquor stores July 1, 2016. In the U.S. Hawaii has also local ordinances on its four main islands that prohibit plastic bags. Some cities and municipalities beginning with San Francisco have similar laws. Los Angeles announced a ban earlier this year. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey are states considering to impose a tax on plastic bags that customers would have to pay.
The new Californian law will reduce the amount of money sanitation departments spend. The grocery store owners in the state will not spend more millions of dollars a year on plastic bags. But the law has been strongly opposed by plastic bag manufacturers. The American Progressive Bag Alliance, representing companies which make plastic bags, warned that 30,000 jobs may be lost across the U.S.
