City Council to Consider Legislation Banning Plastic Bags

Santa Barbara officials may recommend a higher statewide fee on paper bags, and could vote to postpone a proposed voter survey about a city tax

By Lara Cooper, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 07.26.2010

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The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday will discuss whether to support an Assembly bill that, if approved, would ban plastic bags in supermarkets and allow customers to pay for paper bags.

If the council approves the item, it would be authorizing the mayor to send a letter to state legislators in support of the bill. More importantly, it would be voting to postpone considering a voter survey about a locally enforced tax until September.

The Assembly bill, formally known as Assembly Bill 1998, would prohibit supermarkets from providing single-use plastic bags to customers, though paper bags could be purchased for no less than 5 cents each. Even the paper bags provided must have a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content.

If the bill is approved by the legislature, it would go into effect for supermarkets on Jan. 1, 2012, and in 2013 for convenience stores. Customers would avoid the tax by bringing reusable grocery bags.

The bill also would repeal the requirement that stores provide in-store plastic bag recycling programs, and it would pre-empt any local agency from coming up with its own restrictions on bags.

However, the Santa Barbara City Council is considering an even stronger stance.

“While we support AB 1998, we ask that you consider an increase to the fee for paper bags to at least 10 cents to more effectively deter their use and create more of an incentive to use reusable bags,” Mayor Helene Schneider wrote in her letter. “We also ask that you consider a level of post-consumer recycled content of 60 percent, or the greatest level that can be achieved without compromising necessary bag strength.”

Schneider’s letter also outlines the environmental impacts of the bags, saying local governments spend more than $300 million annually to clean littered streets and waterways.

The idea of cutting down on single-use bags has received backing from several organizations, including Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and the California Grocers Association, which partnered with the city during the “Where’s Your Bag?” campaign that had its kickoff event last August.

Several months later, city staff recommended that a survey be conducted to find out whether residents were willing to pay a tax on single-use bags, and if so, how much. The council directed city staff to explore the logistics and cost of conducting such a survey, which raised some eyebrows when it was announced that it could cost as much as $50,000.

The City Council decided against awarding the contract then, but agreed to reconsider it in July. San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Malibu have adopted ordinances prohibiting distribution of plastic bags, but a number have been sued by plastic-bag manufacturers on the basis that prohibitions were “projects” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act.

Another option mentioned in staff reports includes mandating the currently volunteer in-store educational programs to reduce bag usage.

“If AB 1998 does not pass,” according to staff reports, “a mandatory education program would be a valuable tool in reducing single-use bag use, either with or without a complementary local tax.”

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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» AlexandraFunFit on 07.27.10 @ 08:45 AM

I am for Mayor Schneider’s plan. We are capable of putting bags into our cars and using them at the store. It’s extremely successful in Europe, and they don’t tend to drive to the grocery store anyway. We are getting off easy.


» AN50 on 07.27.10 @ 10:55 AM

Alexandra, I’m sure you mean well but can we cut the European comparisons please. It really has become a sickening trend here in the states. We are nothing like Europeans, culturally, demographically, emotionally, geographically or politically. Most of us are descendants of those who wanted to get away from Europe and that rebellious spirit lives on. If you have trouble with that maybe this will help.

Europe has about 380 million people living in an area half the size of the US. Cities there are much more compact and dense and have little room for private automobiles. People of your means and intellect live in small flats, don’t have cars and little disposable income. Oh sure their nanny states take care of them but what kind of life is that to a freedom loving rebel? Culturally most of Europe is very classist and the old aristocracy lives on. Sure if you are a member of that old oligarchy you will do well in Europe and enjoy its rich history and the benefits an elitist life provides, like coming to the US for superior medical care (for now at least), a single family home on acreage and paid protection from the nanny state. But you are probably not an aristocrat or a member of the oligarchy and would live like most commoners in Europe. It might sound real trendy for the liberal/progressive lot here but I guaranty you, you live way better than most in Europe.

Please think about that for a while. It does not mean you have to give up on your conservation spirit or ideas, which are by the way, remarkably American in their nature and origin. The “force behavior through government coercion” is very European and rooted in thousands of years of inbred rule by totalitarian monarchies. Something the European socialist worshipers here in the US should give careful consideration to.

As for Helene and this despicable example of government coercion (the bag law), stuff it! Take your European born authoritarian rule and take a good long swim across the pond.


» emptynewsroom on 07.27.10 @ 11:28 AM

AN50’s insane jealousy of all things European never ends. Any culture or individual that must continuously shout from the rooftops how great, glorious, unique and exemplary they are clearly is suffering from an enormous inferiority complex. About the only one-of-a-kind characteristics America has are its relative youth and immense good fortune to occupy a large slice of the best real estate on the planet. Many of its other admirable attributes are unfortunately being squandered upon the alters of greed, gluttony, shortsightedness and an unsustainable sense of entitlement. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if AN50 had been born somewhere else? As a non-American his entire world view would be totally different. Then even HE would hate HIMSELF!


» AN50 on 07.27.10 @ 01:27 PM

No empty, I’m just not a self loathing sycophant constantly wishing I were someone else, drooling over someone else’s coat tails. I admire much of what Europe has to offer since half my blood line originates from there and I have many friends and family that live there. But what I admire in Europe is not what you do. Your slavish devotion toward their coercive style, monarchy bred, nanny state is sickening. Further your hatred of your own culture speaks volumes about your spineless lack of self confidence and jealousy of those who are confident, rebellious and anti-authoritarian. It’s disheartening to read what you write. Nothing anyone does in the states is good enough for you and must always be compared to your classist elite oligarchs across the pond. Trust me, I have sent many of your comments and those of other liberals to friends over there and they cannot believe what ignoramuses you are. I tally some of that to their inbred condescension and arrogance but they laugh at me and tell me they know I know it’s true. Damn boy I have to agree.

Liberal/progressives in the US are the laughing stock of the world. Really you need to get out more. Oh, I know you can find some, who will pander to your insecurity and tell you that you are on the right track, but they already know what most of us here do, you are very self destructive in nature.

Sorry for the tongue lashing my friend but you seem to beg for it and being the bloviating, arrogant, condescending, intellectual narcissist, AH that I am, I am more than happy to give you what you want.


» emptynewsroom on 07.27.10 @ 03:44 PM

I think you’ve got it backwards. When Europeans, Australians, Canadians, Russians, South Americans and many others think of the prototypical “ugly American” (and this thought does cross their minds often), it is the willful ignorance, buffoonery and self-aggrandizement of the American right wing that fits the bill most closely. Why do you think they despise George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan? They absolutely gag when idiots like Bill Kristol, George F. Will and other American “intellectuals” spew their fantasy-based “Pax Americana” nonsense while we invade, kill and rob weaker nations blind. Are you not aware of how they absolutely laugh at our two party system with our fake elections, lobbyist-controlled government and the endless nationalistic bulls**t that has to be trotted out like a broken record at sporting events and even beauty pageants? You must know the entire world currently blames us for sparking the great recession due to our non-existent banking and securities regulations. If you think your European friends and relatives hold your overtly jingoistic, puritanical, conservative views in anything but contempt, you should listen more carefully when they speak amongst themselves in their native tongues. The last time I’ve seen anyone outside of our borders give a damn about our increasingly forlorn citizenry was when W. allowed corpses to float down the streets of New Orleans and the Mexican Army sent truck with supplies in, probably more out of sympathy and to shame us than anything else.


» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 07.27.10 @ 07:03 PM

How about cutting staff and wages—now that would be leading.

Sub contract out most services to the private sector—Thats leading and savings for the taxpayer..


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