March 20 - Brisbane, Burlingame Plastic Bag Ordinances Take Effect on Earth Day

The cities of Brisbane and Burlingame adopted local plastic bag ordinances at their city council meetings on Monday, March 18.

Both adopted the San Mateo County ordinance, which prohibits all retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags. Paper or reusable bags may be sold for a small charge. Both ordinances go into effect on April 22, which is Earth Day. The two cities join an ever increasing list of communities (71 as of today!) in California that are taking action locally to stop the proliferation of plastic bag waste and its harmful economic and environmental impacts.

In more bag-related news, the City of Huntington Beach also approved a bag ordinance on Monday evening. Formal adoption to add the ordinance to the municipal code will be scheduled shortly.

Congrats to these cities for their environmental leadership!

Senator Alex Padilla has introduced SB 405, which would ban single-use plastic bags in supermarkets and drugstores statewide and allow the sale of paper or reusable bags.

Take Action! SB 405 will be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on April 3rd, 2013. Send a support letter to the chair, Senator Jerry Hill, and let him know you want a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.