Dive Brief:

• The American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA) has filed a second ballot measure related to California's plastic bag ban passed in 2014, which is on hold. The plastic bag manufacturers' first measure to repeal the legislation, filed in February, qualified for the November 2016 ballot.
• The legislation, SB 270, lets grocers charge and keep 10 cents for each paper, compostable or reusable plastic bag provided to customers. 
• If the new effort — filed with the state Attorney General’s office on Oct. 2 — qualifies for the November ballot, voters will decide if they want to allow retailers to keep the 10-cent bag charge or redirect the fees to environmental projects like recycling or beach cleanups, according to Plastics News.

Dive Insight:

California is a national leader in environmental actions, with a 2011 goal for the entire state to cut landfill shipments by 75% by 2020. Plastic bags, specifically, get a bad rap for ending up in waterways and clogging recycling machinery. Some cities charge fees for the bags in hopes of curbing their use, and at least 160 municipalities in the U.S. have enacted bans.

But the APBA called SB 270 a "backroom deal between the California Grocers Association and their union friends to scam consumers out of billions of dollars in bag fees — all under the guise of environmentalism," according to a statement by executive director Lee Califf emailed to Plastics News. He said the law would kill 2,000 local manufacturing jobs and "funnel obscene profits to big grocers."

Novolex senior director Phil Rozenski told Waste Dive in July that the plastic bag industry is working toward greater sustainability in its products. "All of our products have a sustainability share. We built our own recycling facility so we can recycle plastic bags from grocery stores," he said. "An important thing about sustainability is keeping good faith with the consumer."

In California, all eyes are on voters who will get to weigh in at least once on the matter.