( CNN ) -- The California State Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would ban the use of plastic bags by retailers in the state , including grocery stores , convenience stores and drugstores . This year 's Senate session ends Tuesday , so it 's the last opportunity for the Senate to pass the bill . The California Assembly passed the legislation in June . Gov . Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he would sign the measure into law , the Los Angeles Times reported . Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club have encouraged Californians to contact their state senators to push for the measure . The group Heal the Bay produced what it calls a `` mockumentary , '' narrated by actor Jeremy Irons , called `` The Majestic Plastic Bag '' that charts the life of a plastic bag . The video is on YouTube . But the measure has its opponents , too . The American Chemistry Council criticized California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley , D-Santa Monica , who proposed the bill . `` Assemblywoman Brownley 's inflammatory comments are obviously intended to distract public attention from the substance and dire consequences of Assembly Bill 1998 , '' the group said . `` Her proposed legislation to ban plastic grocery bags in California ... is bad for the economy and bad for the environment : It will eliminate several hundred California manufacturing jobs and dismantle existing plastic bag recycling programs . '' According to its website , the chemistry council represents companies that `` make the products that make modern life possible , while working to protect the environment , public health , and the security of our nation . '' In this case , that includes plastic bags . `` We had to work hard to win passage for the bill in the Assembly and I anticipate an equally hard battle in the Senate , '' Brownley told CNN in June . `` Nasty habits , like our reliance on plastic and paper bags , are hard to break . '' Brownley has been fighting to reduce plastic bag waste for three years , calling single-use bags `` an unnecessary scourge that blows like urban tumbleweeds into every corner of the earth . '' Her bill has gained support from the California Grocers Association , which decided to back the bill after Brownley agreed to subject all stores that sell groceries to the ban . `` Our hope is the consumer is driven towards reusable bags '' , says Dave Hanley , vice president of the grocers association . `` We have a huge responsibility to educate consumers . '' However , Hanley told CNN he 's acutely aware of the speed bumps the legislation might encounter along the road to passage . For instance , he said , the bill requires grocery stores to sell reusable bags for at least 5 cents if customers do n't bring their own . `` With the economy , there 's always the concern when legislation has fees , '' Hanley said . Californians appear to be split on the issue . While some people told HLN recently they could go either way , others said a ban would be beneficial . `` I 'm one of those people who 's really good at picking up cloth bags , and really bad at remembering to bring them to the store , '' one woman told HLN . `` It could be just the kick I need to make sure I use recycled bags . '' Another wondered whether it really mattered . `` It 's not just plastic bags . I mean , everything else I get that comes in a container is in plastic , '' one man told HLN . `` Just eliminating plastic bags , as far as I 'm concerned , you are not really making that big an impact . '' So just how much plastic and paper bag waste do we produce a year ? According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Catherine Milbourn , 3.96 million tons of plastic bags , sacks and wraps were generated in 2008 in the United States alone . That 's more than three times the 1.17 million tons of waste generated by paper bags and sacks that same year . And of that , what 's being recycled ? A combined total of 830,000 tons of plastic and paper bags was recycled in 2008 , while a combined total of 4.3 million tons was discarded , according to the EPA -- the equivalent , speaking in terms of weight , of nearly 24 jumbo jets . San Francisco already has a ban on plastic bag use , and it 's not the only city where such a law has been discussed . Austin , Texas ; Seattle , Washington ; Dallas , Texas ; and Portland , Oregon , just to name a few , have all considered the environmental impact of plastic bag distribution . And then there 's the global initiative currently underway . Several cities in China , Africa , Australia , India and Ireland have all imposed bans or surcharges on plastic bags . Prior to China 's ban , an estimated 3 billion plastic bags were used on a daily basis , creating more than 3 million tons of garbage each year , according to the website World Watch Institute , an independent research organization which has programs that focus on areas such as the climate , energy , food and agriculture . CNN 's Adam Blank contributed to this report .
California state senators are expected to vote on plastic bag ban Tuesday . Bill passed state Assembly in June . Groups supporting and opposing the measure are speaking out .