January 17, 2008
Rules Committee Passes Initiative by Mayor Reed and Councilmembers Campos and Chu
(San José, CA) – Today, San José Rules & Open Government Committee, a standing City Council committee approved a memo by Mayor Chuck Reed, Councilmembers Kansen Chu and Nora Campos which directs staff to begin developing an initiative to ban the use of plastic bags under the Green Vision “Zero Waste” goal. The initiative will examine the feasibility of a prohibition of any major grocery or retail store from using plastic bags.
“Yesterday, at the State of the City, we heard the Mayor loud and clear, let’s make San Jose the leading city in sustainable practices.” said Councilmember Kansen Chu. “Single use plastic bags have become urban tumbleweeds and should be phased out of the cities system and replaced by more environmentally responsible alternatives.”
Plastic bags effect the environment and our health. While paper bags are made from a renewable resource, plastic bags are a petroleum byproduct which is a limited and ever decreasing resource. It is estimated that 3 million barrels of oil are required to produce the 27.5 billion plastic bags used annually in California. Plastic bags also effect the environment as litter. Even when plastic bags are thrown away, many don’t make it to the landfill; many are thrown to the winds and dispersed due to their light weight and poor handling in transit.
“Reducing our use of plastic bags will both help the environment and decrease our dependence on foreign oil,” said Mayor Chuck Reed. “I am pleased to see this proposal move forward as it helps address the Green Vision goal for zero waste.”
“This is not meant as a comparison of paper or plastic bags. This is about fostering a fundamental shift in the way we think about single-use grocery bags. We hope to demonstrate to San José residents how easily and inexpensively they can contribute to protecting our planet with the simple act of bringing a few canvas bags to the grocery store.” said Councilmember Nora Campos.
Such wind blown or discarded plastic bags interfere with our parks and streets as litter. Such bags travel from the streets into storm drains, which are a City infrastructure, make their way to the Bay and eventually drift across the ocean.
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Cary Chien, Councilmember's Office
office 408-535-4904
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