AgdaPkt 2013-03-11 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.2.A. - Page 3 iLos Altos Los Gatos Campbell Milpitas ANALYSIS Proposed Ordinance The proposed ordinance would: • Prohibit the free distribution of single-use carryout plastic bags by all retail businesses; • Require retail establishments to charge customers for recycled paper bags and reusable bags at the point of sale (the minimum charge would be 10 cents per bag until December 31, 2014 and 25 cents per bag thereafter); • Allow stores to sell paper bags if they are made of at least 40 percent post- consumer recycled content (higher recycled content is problematic since fibers become too short to bind together); • Require retailers to keep a record of the number of paper bags that are sold to customers; • Allow "protective" plastic or paper bags, without handles, for items such as meat, fresh produce, prepared food, and prescription medication. Garment bags are also exempt; • Exempt customers purchasing food through WIC and Cal Fresh food stamps programs; • Exclude restaurants, take-out food establishments, or any other business that receives 90% of its revenue from the sale of prepared food to be eaten on or off prem ises; • Exclude charitable re-use organizations; and • Provide for fines of $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second, $500 for the third violation with each day constituting a violation, with enforcement by the San Mateo County Environmental Health Department. A benefit to working with the County and other cities is that retailers in San Mateo County would have a consistent, uniform standard to follow. The County is offering to perform the education, outreach, and enforcement of the Model Ordinance (as the County did with the Model Ordinance Banning Polystyrene Foodware, supplemented with additional outreach by Redwood City). A consistent and uniform ordinance, outreach, implementation, and enforcement will make the process more understandable and easier for retailers in Redwood City, and throughout the County. The benefits of a multi-agency standard ordinance, the avoidance of the cost of a City-specific environmental process, and County funded outreach, implementation, and enforcement outweigh any benefits to the City pursuing an ordinance on its own. Adopting an ordinance banning the use of single-use plastic shopping bags will also help the City toward meeting certain conditions of the Municipal Regional (Stormwater) Permit. Provision C.10 requires a reduction in trash loading in the City's storm drain