Arcata Municipal Code Art. 2 Carry-Out Bag Waste Reduction

The City Council of the City of Arcata finds and declares the following:

A. The use of single-use shopping bags (plastic, paper, biodegradable, photodegradable or similar) has severe environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, litter, harm to wildlife, ground level ozone formation, atmospheric acidification, water consumption and solid waste generation.

B. There are approximately one hundred fifty (150) retail establishments or stores as defined in this Chapter that are located in the City of Arcata, most of which provide single-use, disposable carry-out bags to their customers.

C. Many of these single-use carry-out bags are made from plastic or other material that does not readily decompose.

D. It has been estimated that approximately five hundred (500) bags per person per year, or sixty million (60,000,000) single-use plastic bags are used annually in Humboldt County, and approximately seven million (7,000,000) or more bags are used annually within the City of Arcata.

E. Numerous studies have documented the prevalence of single-use plastic carry-out bags littering the environment, blocking storm drains and fouling beaches and waterways.

F. Taxpayers must bear the brunt of the clean-up costs of this litter.

G. Plastic bags are a significant source of marine debris and are hazardous to marine animals and birds which often confuse single-use plastic carry-out bags for a source of food resulting in injury and death to birds and marine animals.

H. Of all single-use bags, single-use plastic bags have the greatest impacts on litter and marine life.

I. The use of single-use paper bags results in greater GHG emissions, atmospheric acidification, water consumption, and ozone production than single-use plastic bags.

J. Single-use nonrecyclable shopping bags are difficult to recycle, contaminate the solid waste recycling stream and impede the City of Arcata’s landfill diversion goals.

K. From an overall environmental and economic perspective, the best alternative to single-use plastic and paper carry-out bags is a shift to reusable bags.

L. There are several alternatives to single-use carry-out bags, including a variety of reusable bags and recyclable paper bags, readily available in the City of Arcata.

M. An important goal of the City is to procure and use sustainable products and services, and to discourage the community-wide use of single-use bags.

N. The City desires to conserve resources, reduce the amount of GHG emissions, waste, litter and marine pollution and to protect the public health and welfare including wildlife, all of which increase the quality of life for the residents and visitors.

O. Studies document that banning plastic bags and placing a mandatory charge on paper bags will dramatically reduce the use of both types of bags. (Ord. 1434, eff. 1/3/2014; Ord. 1527, eff. 3/6/2020. Formerly 5476)

A. A store shall not provide a single-use carry-out bag to a customer at the point of sale, except as provided in this Section.

B. Effective February 1, 2014, stores may provide only the following check out bags to customers at point of sale:

1. Reusable bag.

2. Recyclable paper bag.

3. Protective paper bag.

C. Effective August 1, 2014, a store may make available recyclable paper bags for customer use only upon purchase at a minimum charge of ten cents ($0.10). Bag cost shall be separately itemized on the sales receipt. Revenues from this charge shall be retained by the store.

D. Violation of the requirements set forth in this Chapter shall subject the store to penalties as set forth in this Chapter.

E. Nothing in this Section shall be read to preclude stores from making reusable bags available for sale to customers.

F. Nothing in this Chapter is intended to prohibit stores from reusing their cardboard boxes or previously used paper bags by providing them to customers for the purpose of carrying away goods, or to prohibit customers from using carry-out bags of any type that the customer brings into the store.

G. A store shall provide those customers who participate in the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (Health and Safety Code Section 123275 et seq.) and customers participating in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15500 et seq.) with a recyclable paper bag at no cost.

H. Waivers. Any owner or operator of a store may petition the Director of Environmental Services for a full or partial waiver of the requirements of this Section if the owner or operator demonstrates that application of this Section would create undue hardship or practical difficulty for the store not generally applicable to other stores in similar circumstances. (Ord. 1434, eff. 1/3/2014; Ord. 1440, eff. 6/19/2015; Ord. 1527, eff. 3/6/2020. Formerly 5476.2)

A. The Director of Environmental Services shall have primary responsibility for enforcement of this Chapter. The Director 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 store’s premises to verify compliance.

B. Penalties shall not be enforced for the first two (2) years following the effective date of this Chapter.

C. Any person who violates this Chapter shall be considered guilty of an infraction for each offense and subject to those penalties as established by the City Council.

D. Any violation of this Chapter is subject to the recovery of administrative penalties pursuant to California Government Code Section 53069.4.

E. The City of Arcata may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable relief to enforce this Chapter.

F. The remedies and penalties provided in this Section are cumulative and not exhaustive, and nothing in this Chapter shall preclude the City of Arcata from pursuing any other remedy provided by law. (Ord. 1434, eff. 1/3/2014; Ord. 1440, eff. 6/19/2015; Ord. 1527, eff. 3/6/2020. Formerly 5476.3)