The City of West Hollywood Passes Ban on Plastic Bags

A new ordinance established by the City of West Hollywood is joining the environmental call towards the ban of plastic bags in an effort to reduce the number of single-use plastic bags that end up in environment. The ordinance is based on the ban that is currently in effect in Los Angeles County, and similar to laws established in the cities of Malibu, Santa Monica, Long Beach and Calabasas. For retail establishments of at least 10,000 square feet and all supermarkets, plastic bags will no longer be available as of August 20th, 2013.

“Plastic bags are one of the worst and most common forms of pollution and also one of the easiest things to live without,” says Cory Epstein owner of CustomGroceryBags.com. “There are over 600 plastic bags tossed out every second, many of which end up in our oceans, landfills, trees and storm drains. In California alone, it is estimated that 12 billion plastic bags are used each year, and switching to reusable bags will reduce costs to consumers, businesses, taxpayers and the environment.”

Along with reducing our negative impact on the environment, another major purpose to banning the use of plastic bag is to encourage the use of reusable grocery bags created from recyclable materials. The ban aims to eliminate a major source of litter and debris and increase resident contributions toward reducing waste in the city.

Impacted retail businesses and supermarkets will include the following:

  • Retail establishments and supermarkets over 10,000 square feet

  • Small retail stores under 10,000 square feet

  • Stores will be required to charge 10 cents per paper bag, which will help cover the cost of stocking the bags with hopes to encourage the use of reusable bags

  • Paper bags will be required to be made of 40% post-consumer recycled materials

Exemptions on the ban include:

  • Those who require state or federal grocery assistance will be exempt from the paper bag tax

  • Restaurants who provide customers plastic bags for take-out food

  • Farmers markets and dry cleaners

  • Light-weight plastic bags used in the transportation of raw meat products to point of sale

The City of West Hollywood is eager to help businesses make the transition, will address concerns about the ban, and will provide resources to assist businesses with compliance.

About CustomGroceryBags.com

CustomGroceryBags.com is a manufacturer of custom made reusable totes and grocery bags made from eco-friendly materials. Each bag carried by CustomGroceryBags.com can be created with unique styles and various shapes and sizes to meet virtually any requirement for your personalized promotional offering. CustomGroceryBags.com was founded on a few core principles including making ordering easy for our clients, offering the lowest price, and providing top quality eco-friendly reusable bags. Whether you are looking for 250 bags or 2.5 million, CustomGroceryBags.com is your one stop direct source for reusable bags.

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