Citywide Plastic Bag Ban Passes First Reading

Addition that a second reading is required for enactment.

Following in the footsteps of other California cities such as San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Barbara, Long Beach City Council earlier this week took a step forward to approve a citywide ban on plastic bags.

Ushered in as an addendum to the FEIR for Los Angeles County, this ordinance will prohibit major retailers and grocers from distributing most types of plastic bags to consumers, and it would require these stores to charge 10 cents per every recyclable paper bag. This fee would not be a tax, but would ideally feed back into the store's budget for buying more reusable bags.

The major environmental aim from this ban would be to reduce waste in marine areas. Thicker bags, like the ones at Target at Walmart, might be exempt from the ban because they do not get swept out to the ocean as easily, though this was not fully clarified. Biodegradable and compostable bags would also be prohibited, since they create the same sort of ocean waste as regular plastic bags.

Matthew Maddox from Rincon Consultants, a private environmental organization hired by the city to do an assessment, reported at Tuesday night's council meeting that the significant environmental benefits of this ordinance would be to improve surface water quality and biological resources, such as fish, marine life and wetlands, with less than significant impacts to greenhouse gas emissions and air quality.

Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, a supporter of this issue for years, spoke on the importance of promoting environmentally conscious thinking, changing behavior patterns, reducing city clean up costs and setting an example to neighboring upstream cities, whose waste filters down to Long Beach.

She reported that the city spends $20 million per year on beach clean up and hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising for plastic bag recycling, yet still only 5% of plastic bags are actually recycled. Though the green movement in the past four decades at first promoted plastic bags as more environmental than paper bags because they reduced the destruction of trees, new information about the harmful effects of plastic has since been acquired, and she made the point that this ordinance is the "next evolution," bringing us full circle, "back to the way things were." She briefly mentioned the state-large island of trash floating around in the ocean, and told how she would use cloth bags as a child in India.

Councilmember Robert Garcia also supported the measure, stating that in his view, one of the jobs of the government is to "protect shared resources," like the streams, parks, rivers and wetlands that are littered with plastic bags. 

 Councilmember Gerrie Schipske raised concerns about whether the city should be allowed to mandate and enforce an issue that would limit businesses and individuals.

Cathy Browne of Crown Poly, a plastic bag manufacturer, was adamantly against the ordinance and appealed to the economic impact of job loss and the freedom of choice for consumers.

To this, Gabrielle Leeks, a representative of the Sierra Club responded that with every move forward, people adapt and jobs are created in new spheres. She said, "people who made typewriters transitioned into computers."

Save the Plastic Bag Coalition voiced an intent to sue the city based on illegal additions to the EIR. This is the same group that just sued Manhattan Beach for their plastic bag ban.

The only difference between Long Beach's addendum and the L.A. county EIR is that the city ban would apply to farmer's markets, affect large retailers one month later than the county's and would require stores to retain assessment records for three years if needed, rather than undergo a regular assessment.

Council member Dee Andrews mentioned his concern that low-income individuals might be negatively affected, but Vice Mayor Lowenthal said that upon insistence, EBT individuals would be exempt from the ten cent charge.

Council member James Johnson expressed support and hopes for a statewide measure like this soon. Other supporters of the measure included Surfrider Foundation, Harbor Area Farmer's Market and Heal the Bay.

The council voted unanimously with 5-0 to pass the measure. Four council members were absent. A second reading is still requred to enact the ban, which is expected to be effective Aug. 1.

Large retailers and grocers have until August 1, 2011 to make the switch, with smaller stores and farmer's markets given until January 1, 2012. So, time to adjust.