Plastic Bags By the Numbers 19 billion: Plastic bags used each year by Californians 552: Plastic bags each Californian uses every year, approximately 147,000: Tons of waste created by plastic bags 5 percent to 6 percent: Portion of plastic materials recycled in the state each year 500 to 1,000: Years it takes for a plastic bag to degrade, some scientists say; the exact figure hasn’t been determined.

Trendsetting California is on its way to becoming the first state to ban plastic shopping bags.

In a 41-27 vote, the Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill that would prohibit grocery stores from offering plastic bags starting January 2012. Instead, consumers would either have to carry their groceries in reusable bags or pay 5 cents or more for a paper bag made of partially recycled content.

Convenience stores and drugstores, as well as mom-and-pop shops, would have to ditch the plastic bags as of July 2013.

The law, if enacted, would be a milestone for environmentalists who have long thought of plastic shopping bags as the scourge of the planet, especially for the ocean and marine animals that often ingest the bags.

The key to passage was support from the California Grocers Association, which switched from opposing the bill, giving the measure new life.

David Heylen, spokesman for the grocers group, said the bill made both environmental and economic sense after recent revisions. The most important of the changes was an amendment that blocks local governments from enacting new or stricter laws.

Cities such as San Francisco and Oakland already have bans, and 20 other California municipalities are considering similar laws. Heylen said there was a growing concern among grocery chains that a patchwork of laws would be untenable. Another important change was that the bill covered not just supermarkets but convenience stores and smaller markets.

“We wanted uniformity in who the bill impacts, and we wanted uniformity in how it was enacted,” Heylen said.

Environmental groups including Heal the Bay and San Diego Coastkeeper hailed the passage and said it could lead the way for other states.

“We hope California can show other states that this is doable. We think this bill can be a model for other states to follow,” said Gina Goodhill, who specializes in oceans for the Los Angeles-based Environment California.

Not everyone was pleased with the bill’s passage, however.

Tim Shestek, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, a trade group for chemistry companies including plastic makers, said if the bill is enacted as now written, it could threaten as many as 500 jobs in the Los Angeles area and amount to a $1 billion tax on consumers, who will be forced to pay for bags that grocers once gave away.

“If you forget your bags, there is no way out. You have to pay,” Shestek said.

He pointed out that buying a paper bag would cost a minimum of 5 cents — grocers could charge more and any money collected would be theirs and wouldn’t be directed to any recycling or cleanup programs.

Joan Robinson, 67, of Mission Hills, who was carrying her small stash of groceries in a reusable bag, wasn’t too concerned about having to pay more. Even though the proposed law might cost consumers in the long run, she sees its benefits — namely keeping the bags out of the ocean and helping her not to forget her bags at home, she said.

Shestek argued that the proposed law would cost the state too much to implement. The bill estimates a cost of $1.5 million in each of the first two years to set up and regulate the program.

Dalon Cherry, 34, of North Park questioned the state’s priorities.

“We have more important things to worry about — the streets, crime, programs for children,” he said while unloading a cart filled with plastic bags in the Ralphs parking lot in Hillcrest.

Besides, Cherry said, he prefers plastic over paper. He reuses plastic bags all the time for trash-can liners or when friends take leftovers home.

Supporters of the bill say the cost to oversee the new program is minuscule when compared with the costs and environmental damage plastic bags cause. According to the bill, written by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, California spends $25 million a year to clean up plastic-bag waste, and that’s on top of the $300 million that municipalities spend annually.

The bill heads next to a state Senate committee, and then the entire Senate will have to debate and vote on it.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supports the bill, a spokesman has said.

The San Diego-area delegation was split on Wednesday’s vote, with Democrats Mary Salas of Chula Vista, and Marty Block and Lori Saldaña of San Diego voting yes. Republicans Martin Garrick of Solana Beach, Joel Anderson of La Mesa, Diane Harkey of Dana Point, and Kevin Jeffries of Lake Elsinore voted against the bill. Nathan Fletcher of San Diego abstained, saying he wanted to see the final version from the Senate.