Mendocino County supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with a ban on plastic carryout bags.
They asked the county solid waste authority to draft an ordinance and begin the process of creating an environmental impact report.
"I think it's an idea that's time has more than come," said Supervisor John McCowen.
The county joins Fort Bragg and other cities, counties and countries in attempting to reduce the use of plastic bags, which criticis say are littering the world and creating hazards for wildlife. Ukiah officials are expected to follow suit April 20.
Marin County, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica and Los Angeles County already have plastic bag prohibitions. The Sonoma County Waste Management Agency is working with retailers and environmentalists on ideas on how to regulate bags. Some retailers are leading the way, including Wal-Mart, which has discontinued the use of disposable bags at several stores, including the one in Ukiah.
Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan are among the countries that have either banned or limited the use of plastic bags.
However, city and county officials are treading carefully to avoid being sued by the plastics industry, which opposes such bans and has raised legal challenges. Environmental impact reports are aimed at warding off such challenges.
Mendocino County Supervisors voted to move forward with a ban on a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor John Pinches dissenting.
"This is like spitting on a wildfire," he said.
He said it ignores other pollution sources, such as the plastic bags and tubing dumped in creeks by illegal marijuana growers. He also said he prefers to let businesses take care of the bag issue.
"Why don't we let the free enterprise system lead," Pinches said.
The proposed ordinance would ban most plastic carryout bags at retail stores and require them to charge a small fee for paper bags.
The fee is aimed at coaxing consumers toward using reusable bags because paper bags also take an environmental toll.
"It's common practice in other countries. They bring their bags. We can do the same thing," said Supervisor Dan Hamburg.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: