Laguna Beach City Council members are in discussions about a plastic bag ban in their city. If the matter goes to vote a second time, the ban is currently scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1 of 2013. Currently, the ban may also include restaurants but more research needs to be done on this. Save The Plastic Bag wants the city to consider the safety of residents before including restaurants in the ban. If customers forget their reusable shopping bags, they will be able to purchase paper bags for .10. An exemption would be made for plastic produce bags.
Laguna Beach has set aside $5,000 to educate residents and business owners about the new standards. Members of the Surfrider Foundation want to help Laguna Beach City Council educate the public and encourage the use of reusable grocery bags. The Surfrider Foundation was formed in 1987 by a group of people interested in saving the First Point wave in Malibu Beach from being destroyed. Since then, they have been engaging citizens through education to become active policy changers through participation with city council members. Since 1987, their missions have grown to reach out to many different coastal cities throughout the United States, as well as internationally.
In 2008, Laguna Beach passed an ordinance banning non-recyclable foam takeout containers, so the plastic bag ban compliments that vote to keep Laguna Beach beautiful. The first vote passed successfully without disputing the positive affects using reusable shopping bags will have on the environment. The majority of discussions were centered around how to implement the ban economically.
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