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Return to Reusable Bags
Proposed Bag Ordinance Community Meetings
As part of a citywide outreach effort, the City of San José began a collaborative endeavor to solve an important community issue – the litter and waste problems posed by disposable plastic and paper shopping bags. Currently, only a small fraction of plastic bags are recycled; most are sent to the landfill or end up as litter in our community. San José spends in excess of $3 million a year in litter clean-up costs. Plastic bags are one of the most common litter items found in creek cleanups and trash assessments in creeks. The State Water Board has listed several creeks in the Bay Area, including Guadalupe and Coyote Creek systems, as “impaired by trash.” Paper bags are just as problematic, taking 14 million trees each year in the United States to produce a year’s supply for retail use.
Our goal is to involve retailers, consumers, and stakeholders in the development of an ordinance that will reduce the use of disposable plastic and paper shopping bags. To this end, public meetings were held on 7 dates to gather input from the community: April 27, 28, 29, 30, May 3, 4, 6 (two meetings) and 11.
The proposed ordinance is in development, and if approved by the City Council, would take effect in 2011. Any adopted ordinance would be accompanied by public outreach to promote shopping with reusable bags and build consumer awareness of the ordinance. By shopping with a reusable bag, we can:
- Reduce the amount of plastic and paper bags that are landfilled when not recycled properly;
- Conserve the energy, water, trees, and petroleum needed to produce disposable bags;
- Help reduce litter and its impacts on our community and waterways; and
- Reduce carbon emissions from transporting bags to stores.
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