Apr 2 - City of Chico, First in Butte County to Ban Bags

The City of Chico, California will be the first in Butte County to ban plastic grocery bags.

On April 1, 2014, the Chico City Council introduced and approved a single use carryout bag ordinance. The ordinance, once adopted after a second reading, would be effective in grocery, drug, and convenience stores starting in January of 2015, with full implementation by January 2016. Single-use plastic grocery bags would be prohibited from distribution, while reusable and paper bags would still be available for purchase for anyone who doesn't bring in their own bag.

"Plastic bag litter isn't just a coastal issue. Local governments statewide should not have to spend as much as $107 million each year to clean up after this unnecessary source of pollution," said Sue Vang, a policy analyst at CAW.

Chico is the latest inland city to take action against the plastic bags littering our streets and waterways. Other inland communities with bag bans include Palm Springs (scheduled to adopt its ban on April 2), Davis, South Lake Tahoe, and Truckee. Sacramento is working on adopting its own bag ordinance later this year. Currently, there are 103 adopted bans in the state.

With a 2010 population of 86,187, Chico is the largest city in Butte County. It is located 90 miles north of Sacramento.

Californians use an estimated 13 billion plastic grocery bags each year, and less than 5% are recycled. Local bag bags cover roughly a third of California's population.

Learn more about a statewide solution to plastic bag litter, SB 270.