Cities to study ban on plastic bags

Sonoma County cities are treading cautiously on proposals to ban plastic bags.

Anticipating a lawsuit from bag manufacturers if a ban is imposed, representatives from the county and its nine cities Wednesday decided to study the issue further.

"I believe a ban will ultimately take place in Sonoma County," said Rohnert Park Councilman Tim Smith, board chairman of the county Waste Management Agency, which oversees trash disposal and recycling.

There is growing momentum to ban plastic grocery bags, but the need to avoid a legal challenge was underscored by a letter from the American Chemistry Council, which advised the Waste Management Agency against a ban.

"That's the shot across the bow," Smith said of the letter dated Tuesday, the day before the Waste Management Board meeting.

The Petaluma City Council this week and the Healdsburg City Council last month endorsed a countywide ban as a way to reduce litter caused by the petroleum-based bags. And Wednesday, members of the Waste Management Board representing other jurisdictions also indicated tentative support.

"It's pretty clear from all the impacts we are aware of, we really need to get plastic bags out of the waste stream," said Phil Demery, Sonoma County public works and transportation director.

Representatives from Santa Rosa, Cotati, Sebastopol and Sonoma also expressed support Wednesday for taking more action to cut the use of plastic bags.

"We really need to change the culture. Plastic bags are convenient and cheap. That's why they are so addicting," said Dell Tredinnick, Santa Rosa's representative and a member of the public works department.

Meanwhile in Mendocino County, the waste management board also is weighing a ban.

The crackdown on plastic bags is spurred not only by concerns over litter but because the plastic is not biodegradable. Instead, it tends to fragment and remain dangerous to birds and marine life.

Ireland is among the nations that have reduced plastic bag use by 90 percent since 2002 by imposing a plastic bag fee. And China announced it would ban the sale of thin plastic bags and prohibit the sale or use of thicker bags unless a sales fee is levied.

But in California, a state law that went into effect last year prohibits cities and counties from imposing a fee on plastic bags. The same law requires larger supermarkets and drugstores to accept plastic bags for recycling and to offer reusable bags for sale.

But few people return the bags to stores for recycling.

Last year, San Francisco became the first in the country to outlaw plastic bags from use in supermarkets, drugstores and large retailers.

Oakland and Fairfax passed similar ordinances, but were sued by bag manufacturers who claimed the cities failed to adequately study environmental impacts of their bans.

Plastic bag manufacturers say there are unintended consequences of a ban, and shoppers are more likely to use paper bags if they don't have a plastic option.

And there is no consensus on whether paper bags made from trees are better for the environment than plastic bags derived from oil and natural gas.

The American Chemical Association contends that the most environmentally responsible solution is a comprehensive recycling program so the material can be used for new bags and made into crates, pipe and other materials.

But critics of the plastic bag industry say the best option is not to use bags in the first place, and to concentrate on getting shoppers to use reusable tote bags.

North Bay Corp., the trash hauler for almost all cities in Sonoma County, recently agreed to curbside recycling for plastic bags. Customers in all Sonoma County cities can now place their plastic grocery bags in their recycle bin by placing several bags inside one bag and tying the top in a knot to limit contamination.

But officials said it is not the ultimate solution because the plastic bags often get contaminated when mixed with other recyclables. Only about 30 percent that go into the blue bin end up being re-used.

Those that are accepted are shipped to Asia and recycled into plastic film, which local officials say is not the best way to deal with the problem.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.