(a) Effective July 1, 2013, no retail service establishment shall provide a recyclable paper checkout bag or reusable bag to a customer at the point of sale, unless the store charges the customer a checkout bag charge of at least ten cents ($0.10) per bag to cover the costs of compliance with the chapter, the actual costs of providing recyclable paper bags, educational materials or other costs of promoting the use of reusable bags.
(b) Retail service establishments shall establish a system for informing the customer of the charge required under this section prior to completing the transaction. This system can include store clerks inquiring whether customers who do not present their own reusable bag at point of checkout want to purchase a checkout bag.
(c) The checkout bag charge shall be separately stated on the receipt provided to the customer at the time of sale and shall be identified as the checkout bag charge. Any other transaction fee charged by the retail service in relation to providing a checkout bag shall be identified separately from the checkout bag charge. The checkout bag charge may be completely retained by the retail service and used for public education and administrative enforcement costs.
(d) Retail services establishments shall keep complete and accurate records of the number and dollar amount collected from recyclable paper and reusable checkout bags sold each month and provide specifications demonstrating that paper and reusable bags meet the standards set forth in Section 5.35.020 using either the electronic or paper reporting format required by the city. This information is required to be made available to city staff upon request up to three times annually and must be provided within seven days of request. Reporting false information, including information derived from incomplete or inaccurate records or documents, shall be a violation of the chapter. Records submitted to the city must be signed by a responsible agent or officer of the establishment attesting that the information provided on the form is accurate and complete.
(Ord. 5194 § 3 (part), 2013)