San Rafael crafts ordinance barring plastic bags, foam containersSan Rafael crafts ordinance barring plastic bags, foam containers

[ McClatchy-Tribune Information Services • 2011-08-02 ] 

By Jessica Bernstein-Wax, The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.

San Rafael officials are drafting an ordinance that would ban plastic bags in grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores and require customers to pay a minimum of 5 cents each for paper bags.

The proposed ordinance, modeled on a Marin County law approved in January, would also ban Styrofoam take-out containers at local restaurants.

In a study session Monday night, the City Council unanimously instructed employees to begin developing an ordinance. Councilman Marc Levine was absent.

The council also requested that the proposed ordinance include a possible extension of the ban to retail stores a year after its passage—something the Marin County ordinance doesn't do, says Bob Brown, the city's community development director.

"We can be kind of in the lead here," Councilman Damon Connolly says.

Mayor Al Boro stresses the need to discuss the proposed ban with local retailers in the interim.

Other Bay Area cities, including San Jose, have included all retailers in their plastic bag bans, says Allison Chan, a policy specialist at Save The Bay.

"It's not that new, especially in the Bay Area," Chan says.

Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, a group of manufacturers and other bag supporters, has sued Marin County over its ordinance and a hearing is expected in the fall. San Rafael staffers will await a decision in that case before deciding how to proceed, Brown says.

However, the city hopes to approve an ordinance before the end of the year in order to secure enforcement help from the county.

A San Rafael-led committee, including representatives from Mill Valley, Tiburon, San Anselmo, Sausalito and Novato, has been meeting for several months, researching the issue and coming up with various recommendations for local municipalities.

Fairfax remains the only Marin jurisdiction with a ban in effect—its ban was passed by voter referendum, which does not require an extensive environmental review, Brown says.

California's state Supreme Court recently upheld Manhattan Beach's plastic grocery bag ban, which Save the Plastic Bag had also challenged.

In its Manhattan Beach lawsuit, the coalition argued the city failed to analyze thoroughly the impact of customers' switching from plastic bags to paper. It cited studies showing paper bags require more energy and water to produce, and that their production emits more greenhouse gases and contributes more to acid rain.

Manhattan Beach pointed to plastic bags' greater likelihood of ending up in the ocean and harming marine life, and argued any negative impact from increased paper use would be small.

In an Aug. 1 letter to San Rafael officials, the American Chemistry Council—a national trade group representing producers of plastic bags and Styrofoam products—said it opposes an "outright prohibition."

"ACC members support efforts to reduce bag litter and disposal and it is for that reason we have been working to promote and enhance recycling of not only plastic bags but other plastic packaging as well," the letter said.

The group asked for a chance to provide San Rafael with information about the products from an independent consultant.

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