With California’s statewide ban on single-use plastic bags threatened by a new ballot measure, San Diego is again studying a possible local ban.
City Council President Sherri Lightner announced plans Thursday to reintroduce a measure from 2013, and Mayor Kevin Faulconer said he has asked city staff to resume work on the local ordinance.
“San Diegans treasure our natural resources, which is why I’ve made protecting our environment a top priority,” Faulconer said. “Immediately after the referendum on the statewide plastic bag bill qualified for the ballot and halted the implementation of new regulations, I directed City staff to resume with the environmental review of San Diego’s proposed plastic bag ordinance for consideration by the public and the City Council.”
The statewide ban under SB 270 was set to go into effect July 1, but opponents obtained over 500,000 signatures to place a referendum on the 2016 ballot. The law will now be suspected until the election.
“SB 270 was never a bill about the environment. It was a backroom deal between the California Grocers Association and their union friends to scam consumers out of billions of dollars in bag fees, all under the guise of environmentalism,” said Lee Califf, the executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, which organized the “Bag the Ban” signature-gathering drive.
