Thursday, April 21, 2011

Santa Barbara Update

Post written by Bob Davidson.

On April 19, 2011, I attended the Santa Barbara Ordinance Committee hearing devoted to Single Use Plastic Bags. After hearing an extensive report and Power Point presentation by by its Environmental Services Division the committee voted 2 to 1 to recommend to the City Council that no further action be taken on this issue at this time. 

This means that Santa Barbara will only continue its current approach of having staff promote reusable bags through out the county in its "Where's Your Bag" program. The other 3 options offered by staff were:
  1. Make the the current program mandatory for retailers.
  2. Put up to the voters whether or not to have a voter approved fee on paper and/or plastic bags.
  3. Enact an ordinance to prohibit the distribution of single-use plastic bags and impose a fee on single-use paper bags.

One of the members was opposed to anything except preserving the status quo. He read from a script that was probably prepared by the "Save the Bag Coalition". Chairman House, was all in favor of an ordinance (probably the last option). The swing vote, Councilman Rowse, recognizes the problems with single-use plastic but did not feel local ordinances are the solution because of the cost of preparing and defending them in court. He feels that plastic bags are only one part of a larger plastic pollution problem. When I spoke with him after the hearing he said he favors a statewide solution.

I am convinced that at present our current course of action is the appropriate one. That is:
  1. Wait and see what the California Supreme Court decides in the Manhattan Beach case and then plan our next move and
  2. Continue to educate retailers and the public about the advantages of reusable bags and in the process build a coalition of supporters who can lobby our representatives when the time is right. In the mean time we should do all we can to push for a state wide law that will achieve our goals.
Bob Davidson is the committee head of the Rise Above Plastics campaign in Ventura County.

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