Sacramento County joins plastic bag bandwagon

Sacramento County could soon join the plastic bag bandwagon.

County supervisors will consider a draft ordinance that reigns in use of the offending material later this month, following a March 8workshop that elicited support for a local policy. The ordinance would align pretty closely with a challenged state law that will be the subject of a referendum in November, and potentially impact more than 500 convenience stores and food marts in the unincorporated areas of the county, a staff report says.

Approximately 147 jurisdictions in California have already adopted ordinances banning single-use plastic bags, the staff report says, including the cities of Sacramento and Davis. The county seems to be tailoring its policy after the one adopted a year ago in the city of Sacramento, which conducted several months of outreach and education before enforcing its ordinance.

Californians Against Waste, California Grocers Association and the Sacramento Environmental Commission have expressed support for a countywide ordinance. If the referendum fails, the statewide ban goes into effect.