Sunnyvale City Council Considers Banning Plastic Single-Use Carry-Out Bags

Sunnyvale City Council Meeting
Tuesday, December 6
Beginning at 7 PM
Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale
 
The second item on the agenda is acting on the proposed ordinace to ban single-use carryout plastic bags--those light-weight plastic bags with handles distributed at the cash register.  This ordinace would not include product bags for things such as prescriptions, greeting cards, meat and produce.  The proposed ordinance includes a requirement that retailers charge 10 cents for paper bags that are distributed at the cash register. (Cities are not allowed as per State law to place any mandatory charge on plastic bags.)
 
A consultant, hired by the City of Sunnyvale has performed an environmental impact study which concluded that there would be no significant harm to the environment from such an ordinance. 
 
Staff has proposed that the ban apply only to the 90 or so retailers responsible for 80 percent of the carryout bags distributed in Sunnyvale.  The Sustainability Commission recommended that the ban include all Sunnyvale retailers.  Such a scope would be consistent with the ordinance recently passed in San Jose. Council will decide this issue and the amount of the mandatory charge for paper bags.
The intent of the ordinance is to reduce the number of plastic shopping bags used in Sunnyvale in order to

• reduce litter
• improve water quality
• reduce harm to wildlife and marine life
• reduce clogging of recycling equipment and storm drain equipment
• reduce the use of energy and natural resouces needed to manufacture single-use items 

The ordinance also seeks to increase the use of reusable shopping bags.