A bill introduced in California’s state assembly aims to tackle the issue of paper receipts. If passed, businesses would be prohibited from handing customers paper receipts unless they specifically ask for them.
Assembly Bill 161, also known as the “Skip the Slip” bill, would charge businesses up to $300 if they continue to give out paper receipts.
The legislation requires stores to use electronic receipts as the default option, and businesses that fail to comply could face a civil penalty of $25 per day, capped at an annual $300.
Assemblyman Phil Ting, who introduced the bill, hopes to reduce paper waste in the state and address consumers’ frustrations with excessively long receipts.
Ting argues that paper receipts are harmful to the environment and humans. According to the advocacy group Green America, millions of trees and billions of gallons of water are used annually to produce paper receipts in the United States.
Ting shared that receipts generated over 300 million pounds of waste and 4 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, citing studies by the Environmental Working Group and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that retail workers have higher concentrations of BPA or BPS than those who do not have regular contact with receipts.
The “Skip the Slip” bill is modelled after a California law that requires plastic straws to be given in dine-in restaurants only upon request.
Ting hopes the bill will encourage businesses to adopt more sustainable practices and reduce their environmental impact. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown made California the first state to ban full-service restaurants from automatically giving out single-use plastic straws in September 2018.
»California’s state assembly bill aims to tackle the issue of paper receipts«
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