Council supports ban on plastic carryout bags
By Linda Williams/TWN Staff Writer
Article Launched: 11/23/2007 10:47:44 AM PST
Plastic carryout bags will be banned throughout Mendocino County if the sentiment of the Willits City Council is echoed by other county jurisdictions.
Mayor Tami Jorgensen requested input from citizens and the council prior to the vote. Willits was the first county jurisdiction to discuss carryout bags as an agenda item. The Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority will likely wait to vote on the ban until early 2008, after all other jurisdictions in the county have reviewed the issue.
Members of the public who spoke at the council meeting supported a future ban, although Lynn Kennelly of the Willits Chamber of Commerce requested businesses be given time to transition to the new requirement.
A Pine Mountain resident spoke of his constant efforts to remove litter from the area, citing three areas in particular where the flimsy bags tended to congregate. Others spoke of the desire for everyone to transition to reusable bags. One person wrote a letter to the council, describing creeks in the area after winter rains being festooned with the bags. Gerry Ward of Solid Wastes of Willits advised one council member that he supported a ban; the plastic bags fouled machinery and were major nuisances when placed in recycle containers.
Most of the discussions by the council centered on global issues associated with the plastic bags. Allowing retailers to charge customers a fee of 10 to 12 cents for each paper bag used to recover their increased costs was considered a reasonable future step.
If MSMWA votes to support the proposed countywide ban on plastic carryout bags in early 2008, the next steps will be to pass ordinances at the county level and within each city to make it the law in Mendocino County.
