City Council Committee Renews Plastic Bag Ban Talks

by City News Service

A proposed ban on single-use plastic grocery bags in Los Angeles was renewed Wednesday by a City Council committee.

Plastic bag makers and environmentalists faced off at the Energy and Environment Committee meeting, though no vote on the proposed ban was taken due to a mix-up in the agenda.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who chairs the committee and favors the ban, promised votes will be taken later this month on the ordinance language and environmental impact report.

The proposed law, first introduced in 2011 by Councilmen Paul Koretz and Paul Krekorian, would prohibit stores from handing out plastic bags.

Proponents of the ban say it would lead to cleaner beaches, storm drains, rivers and other public spaces that tend to become the final resting places for the non-biodegradable bags.

Los Angeles County and some cities in California, such as San Francisco and Santa Monica, already have plastic bag bans in place.

The details of how the ban would be carried out remain up for discussion, and possible approval, at a June 17 committee meeting.

Huizar said if approved then, the ordinance could go before the full council for a vote the following day.

The council committee members today were urged to nix a six-month grace period in order to speed up implementation of a ban. They will also consider requiring stores to charge 10 cents each for single-use paper bags.

Noting that many still forget to bring reusable bags into stores, Councilman Dennis Zine said the ban would take some getting used to.

The 10- cent charge, he said, could serve as a financial nudge.

"It's just about changing human behavior," he said.

Representatives of plastics companies, including Crown Poly of Huntington Park, protested the ban, saying it would cost jobs.

Other opponents of a ban, including council members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry, say reusable bags are prone to germs and could pose a health risk.

Supporters dismissed the claims that a bag ban would do harm, saying at most 15 jobs would be lost and reusable bags can be washed.

One ardent backer of the ban, Councilman Richard Alarcon, compared plastic bag use to a "horrendous addiction," saying he is dropping the habit for the sake of his 5-year-old daughter.

"If I want my daughter to have a clean, healthy life, then I have to wean myself off of this addiction," he said. "I have to do everything I can to get society to do the same thing."

Plastic bags might come in handy being reused around the house, he said, but "in terms of our environmental degradation, we've ignored it far too long."

Los Angeles efforts to eliminate single-use plastic bags coincides with a proposed statewide ban introduced in April by state Sen. Alex Padilla, a former Los Angeles councilman.