Chapter 5.01
SINGLE-USE CARRY-OUT BAG USE REDUCTION1
Sections:
5.01.030 Incentives for use of reusable bags.
5.01.010 Definitions.
A. “Food vendor” means any person or establishment in the city of Solana Beach, that provides prepared food for public consumption on or off its premises and includes, without limitation, any store, shop, sales outlet, restaurant, grocery store, delicatessen, or catering truck or vehicle.
B. “Grocery store” means any retail establishment that sells groceries, fresh, packaged, canned, dry, prepared or frozen food or beverage products and similar items, and includes, without limitation, supermarkets, convenience stores, liquor stores and gasoline stations.
C. “Nonprofit vendor” means a recognized tax exempt organization which provides goods as a part of its services.
D. “Paper bag cost pass-through” means the cost which may be collected by retailers from their customers when providing a recycled paper bag.
E. “Pharmacy” means any retail store, where prescriptions, medications, controlled or over the counter drugs, personal care products or health supplement goods or vitamins are sold, but excluding any licensed pharmacy located within a hospital.
F. “Product bag” means any bag, provided to a customer for use within a retail establishment to assist in the collection or transport of products such as produce, bulk items, meat, poultry, dry cleaning or laundry, to the point-of-sale within the retail establishment.
G. “Recyclable paper bag” means a paper bag that meets all of the following requirements: (1) contains no old growth fiber; (2) is 100 percent recyclable overall and contains a minimum of 40 percent postconsumer recycled material; (3) is capable of composting, consistent with the timeline and specifications of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard D6400; (4) is accepted for recycling in curbside programs in the city; (5) has printed on the bag the name of the manufacturer, the location where the bag was manufactured, and the percentage of postconsumer recycled material used; and (6) displays the word “Recyclable” in a highly visible manner on the outside of the bag.
H. “Restaurant” means any person or establishment doing business within the city of Solana Beach that provides prepared food or beverages for consumption on or off its premises such as a restaurant, cafe, bakery, grocery or convenience store food counter or delicatessen, or catering truck vehicle.
I. “Retail establishment” means any person, including any corporation, partnership, business, facility, vendor, organization or individual that sells or provides merchandise, goods or materials, including, without limitation, clothing, food, or personal items of any kind, directly to a customer; retail establishment includes, without limitation, any grocery store, department store, hardware store, pharmacy, liquor store, restaurant, catering truck, convenience store, and any other retail store or vendor.
J. “Reusable bag” means a bag with handles that is specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and meets all of the following requirements: (1) has a minimum lifetime of 125 uses, which, for purposes of this subsection, means the capability of carrying a minimum of 22 pounds 125 times over a distance of at least 175 feet; (2) has a minimum volume of 15 liters; (3) is machine washable or is made from a material that can be cleaned or disinfected; (4) does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts, as defined by applicable state and federal standards and regulations for packaging or reusable bags; (5) has printed on the bag, or on a tag that is permanently affixed to the bag, the name of the manufacturer, the location (country) where the bag was manufactured, a statement that the bag does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts, and the percentage of postconsumer recycled material used, if any; and (6) if made of plastic, is a minimum of at least 2.25 mils thick.
K. “Single-use plastic carry-out bag” means any bag that is less than 2.25 mils thick and is made predominately of plastic derived from petroleum or from bio-based sources, such as corn or other plant sources. Single-use carry-out bags do not include product bags as defined in this chapter.
L. “Vendor” means any store, shop, restaurant, sales outlet or other commercial establishment located within or doing business within the city of Solana Beach, which provides perishable or nonperishable goods. (Ord. 437 § 1, 2012; Ord. 435 § 1, 2012)
5.01.020 Prohibitions.
A. No retail establishment in the city shall provide a single-use plastic carry-out bag to a customer at the point of sale unless otherwise permitted pursuant to SBMC 5.01.040.
B. No retail establishment in the city shall provide any type of bag to a customer at the point of sale except a reusable bag or a recycled paper bag unless otherwise permitted pursuant to SBMC 5.01.040.
C. No person shall distribute a single-use plastic carry-out bag at any city facility, city-managed concession, city-sponsored event, or city-permitted event unless otherwise permitted pursuant to SBMC 5.01.040.
D. No person shall distribute a single-use plastic carry-out bag at any farmers market within the city of Solana Beach.
E. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the provision of bags, including single-use plastic carry-out bags, as may be necessary to comply with the California Retail Food Code or any other state or federal law. (Ord. 435 § 2, 2012)
5.01.030 Incentives for use of reusable bags.
A. Affected retail establishments are strongly encouraged to provide incentives for the use of reusable bags through passing through the cost of recycled bags, through credits or rebates for customers that use reusable bags, or through education. Such incentives may include one or more of the following:
1. Paper Bag Cost Pass-Through.
a. Subject to subsection (A)(1)(b) of this section, an affected retail establishment may provide a recycled paper bag to a customer if it collects a paper bag cost pass-through from the customer for each recycled paper bag provided.
b. The paper bag cost pass-through shall not be less than $0.10 unless a store has previously submitted a full accounting to the city, signed by a responsible manager under penalty of perjury, that identifies all costs including bag purchase, shipping, handling and storage, showing a lesser actual cost to the store for each bag. Any such accounting shall expire one year from the date of original submission and a new accounting would need to be resubmitted.
2. Rebate. An affected retail establishment may rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer for use of a reusable bag up to $0.05 per reusable bag per transaction.
3. Each retail establishment is strongly encouraged to educate its staff to promote reusable bags and to post signs encouraging customers to use reusable bags. (Ord. 435 § 3, 2012)
5.01.040 Exemptions.
Notwithstanding the requirements contained in SBMC 5.01.020:
A. A retail establishment shall provide a customer participating in the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 123275) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the California Health and Safety Code and a customer participating in the Supplemental Food Program pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 15500) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code with a reusable bag or a recycled paper bag at no cost at the point of sale.
B. The city manager, or his or her designee, may exempt an affected retail establishment, vendor or nonprofit vendor from the requirements of this chapter for a period of up to one additional year after the operative date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, upon sufficient showing by the applicant that the provisions of this chapter would cause undue hardship. The phrase “undue hardship” includes:
1. Situations where there are no acceptable alternatives to plastic carry-out bags for reasons which are unique to the retail establishment, vendor or nonprofit vendor;
2. Situations where compliance with the requirements of this code would deprive a person of a legally protected right.
C. The provision of product bags as defined in this chapter is not prohibited.
D. The provision of single-use plastic carry-out bags at restaurants as defined in this chapter is not prohibited. (Ord. 437 § 2, 2012; Ord. 435 § 4, 2012)
5.01.050 Remedies.
A. The city manager, or his or her designee, is authorized to establish regulations and to take any and all actions reasonable and necessary to obtain compliance with this chapter, including, but not limited to, inspecting any retail establishment’s premises to verify compliance.
B. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of an infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $250.00, or a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.
C. The city attorney may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable relief to enforce this chapter.
D. Administrative enforcement of this chapter shall proceed pursuant to Chapter 1.18 SBMC.
E. Each violation of this chapter shall be considered a separate offense.
F. The remedies and penalties provided in this section are cumulative and not exclusive, and nothing in this chapter shall preclude any person from pursuing any other remedies provided by law.
G. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this chapter may be enforced through any remedy as provided for in this section upon its effective date. (Ord. 435 § 5, 2012)
Code reviser’s note: Per Section 6 of Ordinance 435, this chapter shall become effective and operative as to: (1) grocery stores, food vendors, restaurants, pharmacies and city facilities on August 9, 2012, and (2) all remaining affected retail establishments, vendors and nonprofit vendors on November 9, 2012.