Council Backs State Plan to Reduce Plastic Bag Usage

In an effort to create a more environment-friendly Pleasanton, the city's councilmembers are backing state legislation that would ban single-use plastic bags at grocery stores.

According to findings from the Committee on Energy and the Environment, foam food containers, which take centuries to decompose, represent about five percent of the city's litter — but less than one percent of that litter is recycled. Also, the committee reported that 20 billion plastic bags are used in California every year, of which five percent is recycled.

The Committee on Energy and the Environment began exploring the environmental impact of plastic bags and foam food containers at its May 26 meeting.  Committee members found two proposals currently working their way through the state legislature: AB 1998, currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee, would ban single-use plastic bags at grocery stores starting in 2011; and AB 2138, currently being heard in Assembly Appropriations Committee, would ban foam food take-out boxes.

AB 1998 would require customers to purchase paper bags at five cents each if they do not bring a reusable bag of their own.  The legislation would also expand the ban on plastic bags to convenience stores by 2012.

Some committee members initially considered asking the City Council for an immediate citywide ban, according to Daniel Smith, director of operations services, but ultimately recommended that Pleasanton support state legislation that would, in effect, invoke the same ban.  The council approved the committee's recommendation last week, and Smith said the city is currently drafting letters of support for both pieces of legislation.

Susan Houghton, spokeswoman for Safeway Inc., said the Pleasanton-based grocery chain also supports AB 1998, and it is not alone.  Some nearby city governments, including the Livermore Chamber of Commerce, are voicing support to cut the usage of environmentally dangerous materials such as plastic and polystyrene, according to Houghton.  She added that Safeway Inc. hopes to see statewide legislation passed so the process of reducing bag usage could be streamlined across cities.

"For Safeway, it's better to have [the ban] at a state level than individual municipalities, because it would be easier to apply at the state level than the local level," she said.

A Pleasanton-specific ban could be a more expensive effort, according to Smith, because the city would have to conduct an often-costly Environmental Impact Report.  Committee members will monitor the progress of the statewide ban and recommend that the council consider its own plan to reduce plastic bag and foam usage if the legislation should fail, Smith said.

The Committee on Energy and the Environment will also meet with the Economic Vitality Committee in August or September to discuss the fiscal impact that such bans would have on Pleasanton's businesses.