Green Task Force Brings Plastic Bag Debate to Hermosa

The Hermosa Beach Green Task Force is hoping the city will consider a ban on single-use plastic shopping bags in the wake of a similar bill's failure to pass the state Senate this month. 

The group will discuss possible action recommended for the city in a meeting Monday night.

"The city may desire to consider whether to pursue alternatives to reduce the impacts of single-use bags on the marine environment," said senior planner Pamela Townsend in a staff report.

In arguments supporting the state bill, AB 1998 author Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) said that it could stop plastic debris from littering California beaches, entering the ocean, and contributing to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a pile of debris floating in the Pacific Ocean.

"These bits are ingested by marine life, and then the harmful chemicals in them travel all the way up the food chain," Carey Morishige of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told Patch earlier this month. "Moreover, plastic absorbs chemical pollutants like DDT and PCB from seawater and brings them to the surface."

But those who opposed the bill, and are not supportive of potential municipal ordinances, said that a ban would force consumers and businesses to pay for paper bags or reusable bags at a time when many are already facing economic troubles (see accompanying video).

In response, the task force argues that the prevalent use of plastic bags is already costly. Supermarkets can spend between $1,000 to $6,000 a month just on providing single-use bags to customers, according to the Food Marketing Institute.

Some California cities already ban single-use plastic bags. San Francisco was the first to do so in 2007. And a citywide ban was approved in neighboring Manhattan Beach two years ago, but is now tied up in litigation as a result of the Save the Plastic Bags Coalition suing the city over the ordinance.

As for Hermosa Beach, the Green Task Force also plans to recommend that the city ban Styrofoam takeout containers from use in local restaurants, or at least consider the rule as a criteria for Clean Bay Restaurant certification. The ordinance is proposed to go into effect Jan. 1.

The public is invited to join the task force for meetings to discuss ways the environmental impact of plastic and Styrofoam can be reduced.

The Green Task Force will be meeting in City Council Chambers at 7 p.m. on Monday.