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Science
Peninsula Taking a Regional Approach to Plastic Bag Ban
The move to regulate single use bags is spreading quickly through the Peninsula and South Bay.
Wednesday night, the city of Menlo Park joins 24 other cities in an effort to reduce litter and waste. Menlo Park is hosting a meeting to brief residents on a proposed ordinance to ban plastic bags.
San Mateo County is leading the regional effort and recently completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report on the ordinance. County Director of Environmental Health Dean Peterson says it would cover all retail stores regardless of size.
“We took a look at a number of ordinances that are already out there by some counties and we chose to go with the ordinance language that the city of San Jose adopted,” Peterson said. "It’s a simple ordinance, it’s enforceable and it’s something we felt that would work regionally.”
The proposed ordinance is meant to encourage reusable bags. It bans all plastic bags and requires consumers to pay for a paper bag.
Single use plastic bags are blamed for everything from litter to clogging storm drains and waterways.
