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Uploaded: Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 11:05 AM
Menlo Park: Banning bags on its own terms
Revisions to countywide ordinance discussed
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by Sandy Brundage
Almanac Staff
Reluctant to cede control to San Mateo County, the Menlo Park City Council wants to add a clause to the proposed ban on single-use plastic bags that would allow the city to decide whether to incorporate any changes the county makes in the future.
The county Board of Supervisors passed the ordinance in October 2012. The ban, which takes effect April 22, prohibits the use of plastic bags by retailers, except those used by restaurants and for produce, and also implements a 10-cent fee for paper bags. That fee would rise to 25 cents per paper bag on Jan. 1, 2015.
Menlo Park, along with 24 other Peninsula cities, decided last year to support the county's proposed ordinance, in part to save the city from spending at least $150,000 for its own environmental review.
During its Jan. 8 meeting, the council asked City Attorney Bill McClure what approving the countywide ordinance would mean for the city, should the county decide to expand the ban or increase fees for single-use bags. He explained that the county could force Menlo Park to adopt the changes; while the city could opt out of the ordinance, it would probably need to perform its own environmental impact report (EIR) to do so.
An EIR might also be triggered if Menlo Park decided to revise the ordinance, he said. Some changes discussed at the meeting were whether compostable plastic bags should be allowed, lower fees for customers who choose single-use bags, and incorporating a "check in" period to evaluate how well the ban is working.
Councilwoman Cat Carlton described not including compostable bags as a glaring omission, saying her research suggests that the bags place less stress on the environment compared with paper bags, and were easily recycled.
Environmental programs manager Rebecca Fotu responded that not all compostable bags are created equal, since there's no single standard for manufacturers to meet. Local composting facilities can handle bags that biodegrade within 60 days, but some bags require up to 90. Other factors include the difficulty of distinguishing a compostable bag from other types, which could create enforcement problems.
Members of the Stop the Bag Ban coalition challenged the need for a ban in the first place. "(We're) a group of citizens fed up with this type of terrible nanny state-type law," said Don Williams. "Where's the evidence that Menlo Park actually has a problem? There's no real evidence."
Other speakers begged to differ, as did the council. "This is our pollution," said Adina Levin, environmental quality commissioner and Sierra Club member. She noted that while working in Palo Alto, she always thought reusable bags were a good idea, but it wasn't until that city passed its ban that she actually started using them.
In the end, the council voted 5-0 to introduce the ordinance, adding a clause that requires any changes by the county to be approved by the Menlo Park City Council before implementation within the city, and a request that staff spend the remaining time before the ban is adopted at a future meeting to research how much flexibility the city has to make its own revisions.
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Posted by Annabelle, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 12:52 pm Difficult to believe that in this day and age, there are actually people who do not think there is a plastic bag problem.
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Posted by Menlo Voter, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 2:20 pm There isn't a "plastic bag problem." There is an improper disposal problem. Which is a people problem. This can be dealt with through education efforts. Remember the 70's when there was a ton of public service announcements about not littering and poluting. Made people concious of what tehy were doing.
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Posted by Curious?, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 3:08 pm How does the bookkeeping work on this? Is there to be a separate kitty for the bag fees & where does that money go? To the city? County? What does the recipient use the money for?
Unless the retailers pre-buy bags then charge that cost to customers as another checkout item, it seems like a huge headache for store accounting. Do the cash registers have to be re-programmed?
Also, in the long run, the differences between 60 vs. 90 day biodegradables seems like a non-issue, since it's degrades or it doesn't.
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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 4:26 pm 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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Posted by ken, a resident of another community, on Jan 9, 2013 at 4:57 pm About compostable bags, councilwoman Cat Carlton is a bit mixed up.... "Councilwoman Cat Carlton described not including compostable bags as a glaring omission, saying her research suggests that the bags place less stress on the environment compared with paper bags, and were easily recycled." Compostable bags put much more stress on the environment, as they are made from plant starch, which to grow requires a lot of water and fertilizer. Far more resources and energy than traditional plastic bags. They are also about 4-5 times as expensive. And they are NOT recyclable - compostable plastics will only decompose in a municipal composting facility. Mix them in with recycling and you have a contaminate. There ARE biodegradable plastics that will decompose in landfill conditions, but it is illegal in California to label them as biodegradable. Yay California.
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Posted by Michelle Obama, a resident of the Menlo Park: Downtown neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 8:58 pm One-third of the properties on El Camino and Santa Cruz Avenue have "For Lease" signs on them, and this is what the Menlo Park City Council is concerned about?
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Posted by Shane @FactoryDPromos, a resident of another community, on Jan 18, 2013 at 11:31 am We applaud the city council's efforts to protect the environment and their community through the use of reusable bags. [Portion removed; don't include links to commercial websites.] Congratulations!
Shane
FDP, CMO
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Posted by Cherie, a resident of the Menlo Park: Downtown neighborhood, on Jan 18, 2013 at 3:28 pm Should city government order residents to stop using safe, hygienic, plastic bags, forcing them to incur increasing costs in their everyday expenses? Should government force retailers to charge for paper bags? In truth, the “ban” is actually a fee--a fee on every paper bag you get from groceries and all other stores. (Interestingly, in D.C. they charge 5 cents a bag, not the 25 cents that Menlo Park seeks to mandate.) Such charges on everyday items unfairly especially burden people on low incomes. Ah—but let them buy reusable plastic bags, you say? Those bags are notorious for harboring burgeoning e-coli colonies, cross-contaminating foods and making people sick. But what about the garbage in the ocean, you say? The environmental arguments are scare tactics and falsehoods. There is no direct connection between the plastic bag you get at Draegers and the “Pacific Garbage Patch,” whose size, by the way, has been grossly exaggerated. However there IS a connection between allowing government to micromanage our day-to-day lives, and the “garbage police” (aka: trash supervisors) active in cities like Cleveland, who literally prowl through residents’ trash and fine them $100 to $500 if they are not recycling “enough”, and/or generating “too much” trash. Is that the future you want? If not, come to the Menlo Park City Council meeting on January 22nd at 7pm to oppose this latest attack on our freedoms under the guise of “saving the planet”.
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