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It's BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) in San Bruno

The Reusable Bag Ordinance, which will make San Bruno plastic-bag-free, was unanimously approved Tuesday by city council.

Starting on Earth Day this year (April 22), San Bruno, along with other Peninsula cities will become plastic-bag-free zones.

On Tuesday night, the San Bruno City Council passed the Reusable Bag Ordinance passed, which means all retail stores in the city limits will be plastic-bag-free. Reusable and recycled content paper bags will still be available for purchase.

The cities of Menlo Park and Belmont also passed Reusable Bag Ordinances on Tuesday. These brings the total of cities and counties with an adopted ordinance up to 58.

Each year, 20 billion single-use plastic bags are used in California, and most end up in landfills, as litter on land and in waterways, and harming wildlife. The City of San Bruno is hoping that together, residents and businesses can break the “Bag Habits” and BYOB (Bring your own Bag).

For more information, visit the Public Works environmental page on the city's websitehttp://www.belmont.gov/SubContent.asp?CatId=240002528

 

 

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Robert Riechel January 10, 2013 at 05:41 pm
I believe the City council needs to take a second vote before this will become law.
The City is holding a 9-10 AM info meeting at City Hall Jan 16th and another one on th e17th (time to be confirmed) to allow businesses and residents to ask questions etc.
Ken Ibarra January 10, 2013 at 07:16 pm
No, I'm not a fan of the new ordinance, but I voted for it. I like a simpler life. Remembering to bring reusable bags into the store took some time getting use to, but I do it now. Why couldn't we at least had tried a recycle campaign for plastic bags? I didn't recycle the plastic bags, but I saved them in the paper towel tube - saved for some other use. Didn't we used to throw cans and bottles in the garbage? And why are there always conditions? Why does a pharmacy get to use plastic? Remember styrofoam? Why is styrofoam still allowed for eggs and electronic packing?
It's my little rant. Do you think San Bruno or some other city is going to stand alone and reject the ordinance? Doubtful. Talk about peer pressure. Almost like our fireworks ordinance, eh? In the long run, it will definitely make a difference. An idea, why not ban cigarettes? Think of all the lives it will save...
Rob Chapman January 10, 2013 at 08:00 pm
So, the plastic bags that have always been free, are now banned, but we can still get paper bags.....for a fee. What about those of us that use public transit? What if I go to Target & buy 4 bags of groceries & it's raining? I then have to walk 5 blocks in the rain with paper bags. Or am I supposed to carry 4 or 5 reusable bags with me everywhere I go? The REAL purpose of this law is profit. Most people will buy the paper bags at checkout.
Mark Taylor January 11, 2013 at 02:08 pm
I think this is the wrong approach. I recall a long time ago when people decried the use of paper bags and promoted plastic bags as safer. Now we are going back again to paper and/or recycled bags. Lunardi's has a simple program-5 cents off for each paper bag you bring back to re-use. So I use those bags a lot and rarely get the plastic (except when it is raining outside). And those new carry bags are small, cannot hold the amounts the paper can, and have to be cleaned when stuff leaks out (making them unsanitary at times).
Target is the only store I go to that uses plastic bags. The reason is cost. It costs less for them to purchase rolls of plastic bags than packets of paper bags (which they will have to stock). This just adds more costs for the consumer, something governments do not consider much when adding such regulations. Look I am no fan of plastic bags but charging consumers for paper is silly and dumb. It will not encourage people to use those small grocery bags that do not hold as much (and can become messy and unsanitary). The problem here is education. Educate people to use paper over plastic and in the long term is a better way to go. And banning plastic bag for retailers does not end the trash problem either. Unless you are prepared to ban all use of plastic bags, you are still going to get a lot of it as garbage.
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Drew Himmelstein (Editor) June 19, 2013 at 11:53 am
Hey Heidi-- I'm still here, I'm just working on a different group of sites in Santa Cruz and SantaRead More Clara counties. We've been through a transition in our shift to the new Patch site, but we think we have a lot of new opportunities for great local news and participation. Send me an email at drew@patch.com if I can answer any questions. -Drew
Karin Cunningham June 17, 2013 at 11:08 am
Yep! Yep! You can get one at the San Bruno Chamber of Commerce!
Heidi Beck June 13, 2013 at 07:29 pm
I drove by on the way home from work -- if they're really opening tomorrow, they are going to haveRead More to work all night!
Mamarocko June 18, 2013 at 12:52 pm
I heard that Safeway was going to open at the end of the month.
Heidi Beck June 18, 2013 at 02:36 pm
They took down the sign that said they were opening on June 14 and I haven't seen a new one with theRead More new date go up. The website still says "Store Grand Opening is on target for June 14, 2013," so that clearly needs updating too.
Karin Cunningham May 30, 2013 at 05:34 pm
Yay! Back to San Mateo Ave.? That's awesome! Let's support! I might even walk down with my lawnRead More chairs and just hang out in the Citibank parking lot!