Remember to grab those reusable bags from the car, or prepare to shell out cash for paper bags, because starting Sept. 1, single-use carryout plastic bags will no longer be available at Sonoma County grocery and retail stores.
The Waste Reduction Program for Carryout Bags Ordinance, adopted by the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency (SCWMA), bans stores from providing carryout plastic bags. The ordinance is intended to reduce litter, keep plastic bags out of local waterways and encourage people to use reusable bags.
Henry Mikus, executive director for SCWMA, said that the ban took approving votes by each of the eight cities, the town of Windsor and the county.
“I think it’s a wonderful example of how our community pulled together,” Mikus said.
The only exceptions escaping the ban are public eating establishments (like restaurants and delis) and nonprofit stores, Mikus said.
Single-use carryout bags without handles that are used for meat, prescription medications or food or merchandise that could contaminate other food or merchandise will remain unaffected by the ordinance.
Paper bags will be available at stores for a minimum purchase of 10 cents each. That money goes to the merchant to offset the cost of the paper bags.
The reason for the ordinance is “environmental considerations,” and the goal is to reduce litter and increase environmental protection, Mikus said.
“All you have to do if you’re a hiker or walker is use a trail that goes along waterways; you see a huge amount of plastic bags—they’re everywhere,” Mikus said. He said that Sonoma County will see less litter when the ban is implemented.
SCWMA had a bag forum in early 2010 and the consistent message received from merchants was that they wanted the ban to be consistent throughout the county, Mikus said.
Mikus said that many of the people who came to the city council meetings and spoke most vehemently in favor of the ban were those who worked along the coast and waterways, because they saw the litter of plastic bags on an up-close-and-personal level.
Two years ago SCWMA hosted stakeholder meetings, with at least one in every community. Citizens showed up to the meetings and more than 75 percent of them favored the ban, Mikus said. SCWMA also had a firm analyze the environmental impact of the ban, and predict the environmental benefits. Mikus said that most are in favor of the ban, as seen when citizens showed their support when the ban was discussed at city council meetings.
Mikus said that SCWMA’s board has authorized them to buy 20,000 reusable bags to dispense to various areas of the public, to ease the transition and make it so people don’t have to pay for a reusable bag. The Department of Health Services and SCWMA are in charge of distributing “a couple hundred bags to each city,” Mikus said. Bags were given out at the Sonoma County Fair, and another way they will be dispersed will be through outreach and educational events, Mikus said. Half of the bags were bought overseas, and the other half were purchased locally from Bijan’s Protective Equipment in Santa Rosa.
Mikus said that the ban is modeled after San Jose’s Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance, which SCWMA watched and noted to have positive results.
“It’s shown to be effective, it’s really that simple,” Mikus said.
