Sticking to the ban

by Amy Alton, Communications and Policy Associate

Yesterday, the City of Palo Alto settled out of court with an industry-backed group, Save The Plastic Bag Coalition (no joke!), over the city's plastic bag ban, which is set to go into effect on September 18.

Both the San Jose Mercury News and the Palo Alto Weekly ran stories about the settlement.

Under the settlement, the city will be able to maintain its ban. But any expansion would have to be accompanied by a complete environmental review. This is good news for both the city of Palo Alto and for other Bay Area cities looking to reduce plastic bag litter and pollution in their cities and in the Bay. Right now a statewide coalition of municipalities, non-profits and foundations is working together to draft a master environmental assessment, which will help cities complete the necessary environmental reviews to pass ordinances that either ban or impose fees on single-use bags.

Kudos to Palo Alto for taking on the plastic bag industry and banning plastic bags to clean up the environment and their community!

To learn more about plastic bag pollution and its effects on wildlife and the Bay, visit: www.saveSFbay.org/bayvsbag.