Green Team:

At the February 13 council meeting, the mayor asked that the issue of banning plastic bags be placed on an upcoming agenda. It was Item L.9 on the February 27 agenda and was continued to the March 5 agenda.

Attached is a summary of information regarding bans that I have prepared. This is for your information.

Jason Geddes, Ph.D.
Environmental Services Administrator
City of Reno




STAFF REPORT

To: Mayor and City Council Date: 3-5-2008

Thru: Charles McNeely, City Manager

Subject:
Staff Report: Plastic Bag Bans.

From: Jason Geddes, Environmental Services Administrator

Summary: The Council approved the Green Priority Action Plan for FY 07-08 in May 2007. The plan outlines nine objectives and thirty-nine action items that will help the City achieve the goal of the priority which is to “Enhance the City’s efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and provide leadership in the community to encourage residents and businesses to join in this effort.” At the February 13, 2008 council meeting, the Mayor requested that we research what other municipalities were doing in regards to banning plastic bags at stores.

Previous Council Action: 5-24-2007: Council approved the Green Priority Action Plan

Background:

Plastic bags statistics
• 2 to 3 cents - Amount each bag costs markets, compared to 5 to 10 cents for a biodegradable bag.
• 4 trillion to 5 trillion - Number of non-degradable plastic bags used worldwide annually.
• 430,000 gallons - Amount of oil needed to produce 100 million non-degradable plastic bags.

Governments:

Summary - There has been 1- ban, 2 approved bans that are in court, 2 cities that require bag recycling, and 2 cities that are studying the issue. In addition, there are 4 countries that have approved bans and 2 that have imposed taxes on bags.

San Francisco, CA – In March 2007, San Francisco became the first city to ban plastic bags. Under the policy, large markets and pharmacies will have the option of using compostable bags made of corn starch or bags made of recyclable paper.
New York, New York - New York City approved a bill in January of 2008, that forces large retailers to set up plastic bag recycling. The measure aims to reduce the number of bags handed out to city consumers from an estimated 1 billion a year. The bill requires all stores that occupy at least 5,000 square feet to implement bag recycling programs as well as make recycled bags available. The cost to business would be minimal since recycling firms currently pay $100 a ton for plastic bags.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Proposed a ban on plastic bags and take-out polystyrene
containers, but failed to garner much committee support. The bill was amended to work on incentives for plastics recycling.
Fairfax, California - The City of Fairfax approved a plastic bag ban in 2007. They were sued by The Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling, a group of plastic bag manufacturers and recyclers based in Sacramento. City officials there decided fighting the industry would be too costly and made the ordinance voluntary.

Santa Monica, California - The Santa Monica City Council delayed action late Tuesday (2/19) on the drafting of an ordinance that would ban 'single-use' plastic carry-out bags at all stores and restaurants within the city, and would require retailers to charge a fee for paper bags." The ordinance "is aimed at accelerating a shift away from highly polluting plastic bags in favor of reusable canvas and other bags." Earlier in the "month, a ban on the use of non-recyclable packaging for takeout food and beverages took effect in Santa Monica." Currently, "Californians carry home an estimated 19 billion lightweight plastic bags each year, with about six billion of those used in Los Angeles County.”
Oakland, California - Oakland city leaders have banned oil-based plastic bags from use at retail outlets that gross more than $1 million a year. Oakland's ordinance was scheduled to go into force in January, 2008 but has been held up because of the Coalition to Support Platic Bag Recycling's court challenge. The Coalition sued Oakland as a maneuver to try stop the spread of laws banning plastic bags after Oakland patterned its law after one enacted in San Francisco in 2007.

Annapolis, Maryland – A ban was proposed in June 2007. Council took action in November 2007 by amending the proposal to suggest further studies by an environmental review committee as well as using recyclable and reusable products rather than imposing a ban.

Los Angeles, California – In January 2008, Los Angeles County approved a policy asks retailers to encourage consumers to use reusable shopping bags in unincorporated parts of the county.

Countries:

China – January, 2008 - China banned free plastic bags and ordered customers to be charged for any they use. The rules, which take effect June 1, come as the country tries to tackle a significant source of litter. The bags also are banned from all public transportation, including buses, trains and planes and from airports and scenic locations. Companies caught breaking the new rules face fines and possible forfeiture of goods. Shops have been instructed to mark the price of the plastic bags clearly and not fold them into the cost of other items. The Chinese use up to 3 billion plastic shopping bags a day. More durable plastic bags still will be allowed for sale by markets and shops.

Australia – In July of 2006, the State of Victoria passed a law requiring a 10 cent levy on all plastic bags.

Ireland – In 2002, Ireland imposed a tax of 33 cents per plastic bag at the register leading to a 94% drop in their use.

Other Countries with bans – Uganda, South Africa, Bangladesh (2004),

Private Companies:

IKEA stores - March 15, 2007 all IKEA stores in the US will charge a nickel per plastic bag. Proceeds of up to $1.75 million from the bag campaign will go to American Forests to plant trees to restore forests and offset CO2 emissions. IKEA will be selling its reusable 'Big Blue Bag'. IKEA projects that the number of plastic bags used by their U.S. customers will be reduced by at least 50% from 70 million to 35 million in the first year. This program was launched in IKEA stores in the UK in late Spring 2006, and reduction has been an impressive 95 percent.

Whole Foods – In December 2007, Whole Foods Market announced it is no longer offering plastic grocery bags at the checkouts in its two stores in Austin, Texas. The move in Austin, where the supermarket is headquartered, is the first step to ban plastic bags companywide by early 2008. Paper bags made for Whole Foods from 100 percent recycled content will continue to be an option for shoppers. At the Austin stores, the Company is also increasing the refund from five cents to ten cents per bag to shoppers who bring their own bags to use at the checkouts. Whole Foods is now selling “A Better Bag,” a reusable bag made from 80 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.
Raley’s stores in the area offer a re-usable bag and provide consumers with a 5 cent per bag discount for using their own bags.
Opposition to Bans

The Progressive Bag Alliance (PBA) was founded in 2005 and is a group of American plastic bag manufacturers who advocate recycling plastic shopping bags as an alternative to banning the bags.
The Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling is a group of plastic grocery bag manufacturers and recyclers based in Sacramento, California that is suing the City of Oakland, California in court over the city's ban on plastic grocery bags. The Coalition also sued the city of Fairfax, California, located just north of San Francisco in Marin County, in 2007 over its ban on plastic bags. Fairfax has made compliance with the ordinance voluntary to avoid the Coalition's lawsuit.

(775)334-3311

Reno City Council Priority
Green
Enhance the City's efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and provide leadership in the community to encourage residents and
businesses to join in this effort.