Instead of levying a fee on consumers who use single-use retail bags as a county commission considered a few months ago, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors decided last week to adopt a phased approach to eliminate the use of such bags in unincorporated areas.
That approach, approved by the board March 24, will start with a public education effort to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags, and gradually move toward a fee or ban on paper and plastic bags if certain benchmarks are not met in order to reduce waste, according to county staff.
“Public education is very important in any approach toward changing consumer behavior about reusable bags,” said Greg Van Wassenhove, Director of the county’s Department of Agriculture. “We hope more consumers will change their behavior as our outreach program starts.”
A total of 51 retailers in unincorporated areas in Santa Clara County will participate in the education program. Together, these retailers distribute an estimated 35,000 paper and plastic single-use bags annually, according to a county staff report.
In December, the Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission proposed a model ordinance for the county’s 16 cities and the board of supervisors to consider. The first draft of that ordinance would have charged consumers up to 25 cents for each bag they would use to carry out merchandise they purchase from retail stores.
After numerous consumer and business interest groups, including the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, and officials from cities including Gilroy expressed disapproval with that proposal, the RWRC recommended the phased-in approach adopted by the county March 24.
Opponents of the original proposal claimed that charging consumers to use single-use bags would hurt small businesses, and would be burdensome to consumers.
The city of Palo Alto, meanwhile, is moving ahead with a plan to ban plastic bags at major grocery stores beginning September 2009. That city’s phased approach will later address paper bags. And the city of Sunnyvale is also working on an ordinance regarding single-use bags.
