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Uploaded: Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 8:00 AM
Tonight: Plastic bag ban on Menlo Park agenda
Belle Haven visioning also on agenda
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by Sandy Brundage
Almanac Staff
Fresh off the holiday break, the Menlo Park City Council meets Tuesday, Jan. 8, to consider a plastic bag ban, the housing plan update, flood planning and the "Belle Haven visioning process consultant selection," among other items.
Twenty-four cities and towns -- 18 in San Mateo County, including Menlo Park, and six in Santa Clara County -- joined forces to evaluate a ban on single-use plastic bags at outlets such as supermarkets. The county approved the ban on Oct. 23, 2012.
The ordinance would target single-use bags except those used by restaurants and for produce. It would also add a 10 cent fee for paper bags through the end of 2014, then hike the fee to 25 cents per paper bag. The Menlo Park City Council will consider adopting the ordinance at tonight's meeting.
The council will also focus on Belle Haven. In September it voted 3-2 to hire a consultant to plan a process of community engagement for the Belle Haven neighborhood. Six companies applied, according to the staff report; a committee of city staff and two Belle Haven residents -- Jim Cebrian and Michelle Tate -- are recommending that the city hire Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc.
Go to the agenda to review associated staff reports. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Menlo Park Civic Center at 701 Laurel St.
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Posted by NuffSaid, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Jan 8, 2013 at 12:47 pm This is a lose-lose proposition. It will make shopping more expensive and inconvenient for residents. It's another example of government micromanaging our lives. Better to educate the public and let people make their own decisions. Many of us reuse bags, as they are handy for many purposes. Those who feel strongly about this bring their own bags when they shop. At 25 cents a bag, this is becomes another tax on residents. Enough.
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Posted by Carol, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Jan 8, 2013 at 12:59 pm In deciding whether or not to ban plastic bags, it takes less than 5 minutes of viewing the following slide presentation backed by comments from reliable sources:
Web Link
Does the convenience of using plastic bags outweigh their damage to our environment? Do all of us have a responsibility to protect our wildlife, our oceans, and our land from the careless disposal of plastic bags? Considering the damage, do we really have a choice?
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Posted by WhoRUpeople, a resident of another community, on Jan 8, 2013 at 1:55 pm Considering the fly speck the amount of plastic bags generated by piddly little Menlo Park relative to the world at large, sorry Carol, not going to save a whole bunch of critters. Same can be said of all of these silly efforts to safe the planet from societies that we cannot control.
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Posted by gunste, a resident of the Portola Valley: Ladera neighborhood, on Jan 8, 2013 at 3:02 pm If they ban plastic bags, I shall have to go and buy some to use as a garbage receptacle before transfer to the bin for collection.
The problem is the inconsiderate, irresponsible people who toss them.
Those people will continue to damage the environment with other equivalent debris. Most responsible citizens will re-use them or recycle them at the markets.
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Posted by Environment, a resident of the Portola Valley: other neighborhood, on Jan 8, 2013 at 10:36 pm When I was a kid, my mother organized a protest against a proposed city ordinanance that required supermarkets to provide receptacles to collect aluminum cans. She was promoting the idea that these receptacles would attract rats. I'm now a grown man, and I've never seen rats at the supermarket, the rats may very well be there, but the idea of not recycling aluminum cans is ridiculous.
I suggest that individuals opposed to this bag ban, do a little video about their opposition with their kids or grand kids, and ask them to post it to their friends. Your kids and grand kids will likely refuse to embarrass themselves by being associated with these arcane views. I'm not suggesting that the kids are right, only that opinions change.
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Posted by Alan, a resident of the Menlo Park: Belle Haven neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 2:45 pm They are useful as trash bags ... but you usually end up with more bags than you can use, and a lot of the plastic bags are the wrong size for garbage cans. Menlo Park is a small part of the world, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do our part; if nothing else, I don't like the plastic bags floating around our own town.
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Posted by Joe, a resident of the Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 5:14 pm I posted this on the updated article:
It's too bad that Recology hasn't figured out a way for these bags to be included in the Blue recycle bins.
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