Palm Desert Plastic Bag Ban Begins April 1

With a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags scheduled to go into effect in less than a month in Palm Desert, city officials reminded the public today that legal challenges that have blocked implementation of a statewide ban don’t apply locally.

Beginning April 1, supermarkets with gross sales of more than $2 million a year, or larger than 10,000 square feet will be prohibited from providing the plastic shopping bags. Other grocery and retail stores must begin complying by Oct. 1, city spokesman David Hermann said.

Grocery stores will be able to provide recyclable paper bags to customers for 10 cents each. The fee is intended to offset the cost of more expensive paper bags, and to encourage customers to shift to reusable or recyclable bags, city officials said.

The ban was approved by the Palm Desert City Council last July.

“Because the city’s ordinance was approved prior to California’s disputed statewide ban on plastic bags, it supersedes state law,” Herman said.

Critics say single-use plastic bags damage the environment, and experts point to the fact that four or five reusable bags used weekly could replace more than 500 single-use plastic bags each year.

To ease the transition, city officials will conduct a Bring Your Own Bag campaign in which reusable bags will be given away at stores and local events.

--City News Service; Image via Shutterstock

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