A. It is the intent of the city in enacting this chapter to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags and paper bags, and encourage the use of reusable bags by consumers and retailers.
B. California retailers distribute approximately nineteen billion (19,000,000,000) single-use plastic bags every year, equating to approximately five hundred twenty-two (522) bags per person. It is estimated that less than five percent of those bags are recycled. The bags end up in landfills, rivers, bays, oceans, and other natural environments. Plastic bags can break down into small pieces that contaminate soils and waterways, and can be ingested by marine life causing suffocation.
C. Due to their light weight, single-use plastic bags can easily become caught in the wind, contributing to litter and visual blight. Collecting these bags is challenging as they snag on trees and fences and are difficult to retrieve.
D. While the city accepts single-use plastic bags in the curbside recycling program, handling these bags at the recycling center is cumbersome. The bags clog and slow sorting machines. On average, the processor must shut down its sorting machinery six times per day to remove tangled bags, which increases the processing cost for commingled recyclables.
E. By enacting this chapter, the city intends to mitigate the negative environmental and public health impacts resulting from single-use plastic bags, reduce litter and visual blight caused by plastic bags, and minimize the cost and inconvenience of handling single-use plastic bags at local recycling centers. (Ord. 2015-0007 § 1)