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Attachment D ST0?iATEO►RG Reducing the Waste Stream for Alameda County January 17, 2012 TO: Alameda County Waste Management Authority FROM: Gary Wolff, Executive Director BY: Debra Kaufman, Senior Program Manager SUBJECT: Single Use Bag Reduction Ordinance Second Reading & Adoption BACKGROUND At the meeting of December 14`h, the Authority Board adopted a resolution certifying the portions of the environmental impact report relevant to the single use bag reduction ordinance, considered the proposed ordinance by title only, waiving a full reading of the full text, and introduced the ordinance for consideration of adoption at the January 25 WMA meeting. Attachment A provides the full text of the ordinance. Key Ordinance Provisions: The draft ordinance would ban all single use carryout bags at packaged food stores Countywide, with the following exceptions: • Single use bags provided to transport produce, bulk food or meat from within a store to the point of sale. • Recycled content paper bags may be provided but only if the retailer charges a minimum price of $0.10 for each bag. • Reusable bags (as defined in the ordinance) may also be provided but only if the retailer charges a minimum price of$0.10 for each bag. • Public eating establishments such as restaurants are exempt, since they frequently use bags to hold hot food which may be needed for public safety. • Nonprofit charitable reuse organizations are also exempt because many already use donated bags for their sales and their work supports the County's efforts to promote reuse and recycling of donated goods. Additional provisions include the following: • The $0.10 price will go up to $0.25 per single use bag on January 1, 2015 unless the Authority Board finds before then that this increase is not necessary to sufficiently discourage single use bag use. • Retail establishments may continue to provide recycled content paper bags at no cost for food purchases paid for by the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Food Program. 69