Title
Agenda Item:
Plastic Bag Briefing and Recommendation to County Commissioners
Body
Issue:
Single-use plastic bags promote disposable behavior, clog recycle sorting machinery, are made from fossil fuels and easily become airborne litter where they impact our natural and marine environments. As a result, a ban on single-use plastic shopping bags is being considered for Thurston County.
Committee Recommendation:
The Thurston County Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC), on which Mayor Pro Tem Jones represents Olympia, recommends that a regionally coordinated ban on single-use plastic bags is the best solution.
City Manager's Recommendation:
Move to approve a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners in support of a regionally coordinated ban on single-use plastic shopping bags that includes a small fee on paper bags and provides adequate lead time for implementation.
Staff Contact:
Ron Jones, Senior Program Specialist,Public Works Waste ReSources, 360.753.8509
Presenter(s):
Ron Jones, Senior Program Specialist, Public Works Waste ReSources, 753-8509
Terri Thomas, Thurston County Solid Waste
Background and Analysis:
On August 14, 2012, City Council heard a briefing about efforts to reduce plastic shopping bag use in Thurston County. At that time, Thurston County was in the process of completing a 6-month education, outreach and research effort, which included gathering community survey data on plastic bag use. Over 3,700 residents county-wide responded to the survey, including 1,152 from Olympia. The majority of those who responded to the survey were in favor of banning bags. The Olympia survey data are attached with the staff report.
Thurston County also scheduled seven community meetings in September/October 2012 to engage the public in a discussion about plastic bags. One of those meetings was hosted at Olympia City Hall on September 19. Those in attendance were generally supportive of banning plastic bags as a means to reducing their ...
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