City Asks for Residents' Input on Plastic Bag Ordinance

San Mateo County has developed a Model Ordinance that regulates the use of plastic and paper single-use carryout bags. The ordinance would apply to all retail establishments including those selling clothing, food and personal items directly to consumers. It would not apply to restaurants.

The ordinance would prohibit the free distribution of single use carryout paper and plastic bags and require retail establishments to charge customers for recycled paper bags and reusable bags at the point of sale. The minimum charge would be ten cents per paper bag until Dec. 31, 2014 and twenty five cents per paper bag on or after Jan. 1, 2015.

The City of San Carlos is exploring the possibility of adopting this ordinance or a comparable one in January 2013 with an effective date on Earth Day - April 22, 2013. Before this goes to the City Council for consideration, the City and the Chamber of Commerce would like to brief and hear from San Carlos residents and San Carlos retailers.

The meeing will be held Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Meeting Rooms, San Carlos Library, 610 Elm Street

Topics to be discussed at the outreach event will include:

• Discussion of the County Model Ordinance on Single Use Carryout Bags
• How would such a proposed ordinance affect retailers and residents in San Carlos?
• Your thoughts and suggestions on this proposal and next steps

A copy of the Model Ordinance is available on the Internet at http://smchealth.org/bagban

• County Web Site: We Think it's Time to Bag the Bag
• Model Ordinance - Single Use Bag Ordinance (Acrobat File, 43 kb)