County Bans Free Single-Use Grocery Bags

The Alameda County Waste Management Authority (ACWMA) adopted two ordinances on Wednesday that will help the county achieve its long-term waste reduction goals, ACWMA officials said in a press release.

The first ordinance requires recycling of high market-value materials from larger businesses and multi-family properties. The second prohibits free distribution of single-use bags at checkout in stores that sell packaged food.

Both ordinances will apply in Piedmont, where the City Council decided last month not to "opt out" if the measures were adopted.

State law requires larger businesses (four cubic yards of garbage service per week and above) and multi-family properties of five units or more to obtain recycling service. The mandatory recycling ordinance adopted for Alameda County builds on the State's requirements by specifying which materials need to be recycled and by requiring that an adequate level of recycling service be obtained. (This is already already available to all Piedmont customers through Richmond Sanitary Services, the city's designated garbage service.)

The single-use bag ordinance bans single-use carry-out bags at checkout at retailers selling packaged food countywide. Paper bags with at least 40 percent recycled content may be provided, but only if the retailer charges a minimum price of 10 cents per bag (which ACWMA estimates as the average cost to the business).

The single-bag requirements go into effect Jan. 1, 2013. The charge is scheduled to increase to 25 cents on Jan. 1, 2015, although ACWMA raise it above 10 cents before then.

The ban does not apply to plastic or paper bags used to contain meat, fresh produce, prepared foods and similar items that are typically placed within a carryout bag at the point of sale.

Piedmont City Council members voted 5-0 on Dec. 19, 2011 to "strongly support" the adoption of both ordinances, saying that they are consistent with the goals and objectives of the city's Climate Action Plan and the recommendations of the city's Environmental Task Force.

According to a staff report on the issue, provides only paper bags, while the convenience store provides both plastic and paper bags.

To comply with the ordinance, Valero would need to eliminate its single-use plastic bags and both businesses would need to ensure that their single-use paper bags had a minimum 40 percent recycled content and begin charging customer the 10¢ per bag charge, the staff report says.

Plastic bags comprised 9.6 percent of litter collected during coastal cleanup days (based on 2008 data) in Alameda County, according to ACWMA officials.

Both ordinances were identified as long-term waste reduction strategies in StopWaste.Org's 2010 Strategic Plan, which included a goal that by 2020 less than 10 percent of solid wastes landfilled should be materials that are easily recycled or composted.

FAQ's with detailed information on each of the proposed ordinances is available at www.stopwaste.org/news.