And, this just in from Wilson Lau, Watershed Coordinator at the Arroyo Seco Foundation:
Bag Man: Now that you can be nicked a dime for a paper bag at grocery stores in unincorporated areas in L.A. County, it pays to bring your own. (Barbara Burns)
The City of Pasadena is having a Special Meeting of the Environmental Advisory Commission (EAC) Tueday at 6 p.m. to receive comments on a recommendation for a proposed ordinance that would ban plastic carryout bags, impose a 10-cent charge on paper carryout bags, and require affected stores to provide reusable bags to customers for sale or at no charge. The stores that would be affected by the proposed ordinance includes large grocers (gross annual sale of $2 million or more), retailers (at least 10,000 square feet of retail space and has a licensed pharmacy) as well as farmer’s markets, drug stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience food stores, food marts, liquor stores, vendors participating at City-sponsored special events, and events held at City facilities or on City property.
Pasadena is committed to forging policies in support of increased environmental stewardship in partnership with the business community. Pasadena’s Green City Action Plan, adopted in 2006, identifies the development of a plastic bag reduction program to support its goal of achieving zero waste to landfills by 2040.
Questions? Contact Ursula Schmidt, Sustainability Affairs Manager, at (626) 744-6729.
Comments will be heard in Pasadena City Hall, Council Chambers, S246, 100 N. Garfield Ave. Street parking is available on Garfield Avenue and Ramona Street, adjacent to City Hall. A public parking lot is located at the Paseo Colorado Shopping Mall just south of City Hall at 280 East Colorado Blvd.
Bag Man: Now that you can be nicked a dime for a paper bag at grocery stores in unincorporated areas in L.A. County, it pays to bring your own. (Barbara Burns)
Manhattan Beach doesn’t have to complete an environmental review in order to ban retailers from providing single-use plastic bags to customers at the point of sale, the California Supreme Court ruled yesterday. Read the complete story.
This is a victory for those who want most plastic bags to disappear from the shopping landscape. I was in Trader Joe’s last week and luckily I didn’t forget my bags. The guy in front of me got a little salty when the clerk gave him the choice of either a paper bag, costing a dime, or a reusable plastic bag for a buck and change.
So “paper or plastic?” has become — what? — “paper or plastic?”
“BAG,” and from here on out, supermarkets and pharmacies in unincorporated areas of L.A County will charge you a dime for each paper bag you need to carry out items from the store. Single-use plastic bags will be offered, however, for carryout, fruits, vegetables and raw meats.
What’s it mean?
On the heels of a 1 percent drop in sales tax here in the county, it is now wise to save your pennies by bringing your own bags for shopping. Yesterday, according to various news sources, shoppers who forgot their bags got creative by enlisting cardboard boxes, multitasking hand and arm grips a la Brazilian jujitsu, reusable totes and even Gucci purses.
Reaction has been mostly positive, according to store personnel.
After having covered this for the past several months, I have mixed feelings about the piecemeal bans we’re seeing. A statewide ban would have been more effective and easier on consumers. Now, your bag burden depends on where you’re shopping: Altadena, yes; adjacent Pasadena, no …
Let’s wait and see if the ban decreases the amount of plastic harvested in next year’s river cleanup.
lariverflyfishing 