Aug 19 - American Canyon Bans Plastic Bags - More Communities to Follow Next Week

The American Canyon Eagle reports that the American Canyon City Council last night gave final approval for a ban on single-use plastic bags. The approval comes one week before Santa Barbara County and the City of Hermosa Beach are expected to do the same. They are joining Sacramento, San Diego, Cathedral City and other communities moving forward with local bans after plastic bag companies from Texas and South Carolina spent $3.2 million to gather enough signatures for a referendum that is delaying a statewide ban that was supposed to go into effect July 1, 2015.

“We don’t need to wait for the state to implement this,” said American Canyon resident Janelle Sellick. “We can be leaders when we all know it’s the right thing to do.”

The American Canyon ordinance will go into effect January 1, 2016, when 20,000 local residents will join other Napa County citizens who have transitioned away from single-use plastic bags. “We’ve had absolutely no issues with it in the City of Napa, nor has Calistoga or St. Helena," explained Jerry Gilligan, from Sustainable Napa County.

“We are a town of leaders, and we should lead the way to help our environment,” said Justin Della, representing over 50 members of his American Canyon High School Environmental Club. Della went on to point out that cities around the world, from Mexico City and New Delhi to San Francisco and San Jose, have already banned plastic bags.

In his presentation to the Council, the City’s Community Development Director Brent Cooper reported that the American Canyon Kiwanis and the CORE business group are “comfortable” with the ordinance, and that an informal survey of 117 local residents found that 101 were in favor of their city moving forward with the local ban.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Hermosa Beach City Council have both approved a first reading of their respective ordinances, and are expected to grant final approval next Tuesday, August 25.