Malibu: forget the fees, no more plastic bags at all

City to ban all single-use plastic shopping bags, considering imposing a fee on paper bags to encourage using "reusable" bags
In the most agressive action against the use of plastic bags, the Malibu City Council voted unanimously Monday night to ban retailers from distributing single-use plastic shopping bags within city limits, joining dozens of other progressive cities that have recently moved to curb the proliferation of wasteful packaging, according to a press release.
The ban applies to all retailers, from grocery stores to small boutiques. It forbids the distribution of both plastic and compostable carryout bags.
Grocery stores, food vendors, restaurants, pharmacies and city facilities have six months to comply with the ordinance. Smaller sized retailers have one year until the measure is operative.
The City Council also directed staff to research imposing fees on paper bags, in a bid to drive consumer adoption of more sustainable reusable bags.
The council's decision comes after a statewide ban on plastic bags wsa proposed, that would impose a 15 cent fee for plastic bags, sidelining a harsher 25-cent recommendation. The decision also comes after Santa Monica officials propsed a new ordinance that would impose a fee of 5 cents per bag.
Santa Monica is now drafting an ordinance that would forbid the distribution of all single-use plastic shopping bags within city limits and require that store owners charge shoppers a fee if they request a paper bag.
Regional environmental group Heal the Bay provided input to city staff that drafted the approved measure as part of its yearlong fight to promote the use of reusable shopping bags statewide. One-use plastic bags clog landfills, foul our public spaces, waste energy and threaten marine life.
California taxpayers spend more than $25 million a year to collect and dispose of the 19 billion one-use plastic shopping bags distributed annually. “The city of Malibu should be commended for taking decisive action to protect the environment and improve residents’ quality of life,” said Sarah Abramson, Heal the Bay’s director of coastal resources. “Hopefully other cities are taking notice and now realize that the writing is on the wall for plastic bags.”
More than two dozen nations and metropolitan areas have recently enacted limited bans on plastic bags, including China, San Francisco and Paris.