California Passes AB 2449, Reducing Plastic Bag Waste

From the Sea Turtle Restoration Project:
Governor Schwazenegger signed AB 2449 which reduces plastic bag waste. This will help protect leatherbacks.

California retailers distribute more than 19 billion plastic grocery bags annually, less than 5% of which are currently recycled. Assembly Bill 2449 will provide California consumers with the information and opportunity to reduce bag generation with reusable bags, while establishing a convenient network of more than 7000 locations for bag recycling.

AB 2449 will benefit endangered leatherback sea turtles by reducing plastic bag waste in the ocean.

Leatherback numbers in the Pacific have declined 95% in the past 20 years and scientists predict that unless we reverse this decline (especially from their death and drowning in gillnet and longline fisheries, both of which are poised to expand off the California coast) this species will become extinct within 10-30 years in the Pacific. 

Right now, these amazing creatures (which grow to the size of a VW Beetle) are off the coast of California having swum across the Pacific from their nesting beaches in Indonesia and the Western Pacific to eat jellyfish, their main food source. Unfortunately, turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and will eat them. Ingesting plastic bags can obstruct the gut, lead to absorption of toxins and reduce the absorption of nutrients from their real food. Many turtles washed up dead along our coasts have ingested plastic bags