County Approves Plastic Bag Ban; Milpitas Study Released

The city of Milpitas has released two studies that would impact businesses and consumers, but benefit the environment. The Recycling and Source Reduction Advisory Commission will look at reports on a potential plastic bag ban and at tonight's meeting at city hall.

Coincidentally, the county this morning approved an ordinance that bans plastic bags and most single-use paper bags in the county's unincorporated areas. It will go into effect the same day as the city of San Jose's plastic bag ban, Jan 1, 2012.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of banning carryout bags distributed by businesses, with Supervisor Mike Wasserman as the sole dissenter.

Supervisor Liz Kniss said she hopes the ordinance will encourage people to switch to reusable bags.

"This isn't very difficult," Kniss said. "I think the biggest challenge is changing our culture, changing our habits."
 
The ban will affect about 56 retailers but will exclude restaurants and nonprofit and social organizations.

Businesses will still be allowed to use plastic bags for items including fresh produce, meat, frozen foods, prepared foods, bakery items, plants, prescription drugs and newspapers.

Retailers can sell customers single-use paper bags that are 100 percent recyclable and contain a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer waste at a cost of 15 cents each.

In San Jose, customers would be charged 10 cents per bag, and in two years, 25 cents.

Supervisor Ken Yeager proposed the idea for the ordinance a little more than two years ago.

"I know we've all been waiting a long time for this," he said.

Wasserman opposed the ordinance, saying that plastic bags are a small aspect of the overall pollution problem and that the ordinance does not effectively tackle that problem.

"We have an ordinance that excludes many, many things," he said.  The ban is part of an effort to reduce the prevalence of single-use bags, which proponents of the ban say litter roadsides, clog drainage systems, pollute local creeks and streams and harm wildlife.

-Bay City News Service