Palm Desert Municipal Code Ch. 5.12 Single-Use Carryout Plastic Bags

A. The city council of the city of Palm Desert finds and determines that the city is committed to protecting the public health, safety, welfare, and environment, and that in order to meet these goals, it is necessary for the city to promote the public purposes served by this chapter and adopt the following regulations pursuant to these findings.

B. The city finds that ordinances limiting the use of single-use carryout plastic bags have been proven to reduce the amount of pollution and improve quality of life for the citizens of Palm Desert.

C. The city finds that, except in unusual circumstances, it is feasible and reasonable for parties who provide single-use carryout plastic bags to easily transition to paper bags and move to a model that charges for paper bag use by consumers.

D. The city of Palm Desert recognizes that plastic bags are a public nuisance and affect public health and impact tourism and quality of life to both residents and visitors in Palm Desert.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

"Customer"

means any person obtaining goods from a store.

"Food bank"

means a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough food to avoid hunger.

"Grocery store,"

not including public eating establishments or food banks, means any of the following establishments located within the city limits of the city of Palm Desert:

A full-line, self-service store that primarily sells groceries, fresh, packaged, canned, dry, prepared or frozen food or beverage products and similar items; or

A drug store, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store, convenience food store, foodmart, or other entity engaged in the retail sale of a limited line of goods that includes milk, bread, soda, and snack foods, including those stores with a Type 20 or 21 license issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

"Nonprofit charitable reuser"

means a charitable organization, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or a distinct operating unit or division of the charitable organization, that reuses and recycles donated goods or materials and receives more than fifty percent of its revenues from the handling and sale of those donated goods or materials.

"Operator"

means the person in control of, or having the responsibility for, the operation of a store, which may include, but not be limited to, the owner of the store.

"Paper bag"

means a paper bag provided at the check stand, cash register, point of sale, or other point of departure for the purpose of transporting food or merchandise out of the establishment.

"Paper bag cost pass-through"

means the cost which must be collected by retailers from their customers when providing a paper bag.

"Person"

means any natural person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other organization or group however organized.

"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.

"Prepared food"

means foods or beverages which are prepared on the premises by cooking, chopping, slicing, mixing, freezing, or squeezing, and which require no further preparation to be consumed. Prepared food does not include any raw, uncooked meat product or fruits or vegetables which are chopped, squeezed, or mixed.

"Produce bag" or "product bag"

means any bag without handles used exclusively to carry produce, meats, or other food items to the point of sale inside a store or to prevent such food items from coming into direct contact with other purchased items.

"Public eating establishments"

means a restaurant, take-out food establishment, or any other business that receives ninety percent or more of its revenue from the sale of prepared food to be eaten on or off its premises.

"Retail establishment,"

not including nonprofit charitable reusers, means any of the following establishments located within the city limits of the city of Palm Desert.

A store that primarily sells any non-perishable goods including, but not limited to, clothing, or personal items, and generates sales or use tax pursuant to the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code); or

Any person, including any corporation, partnership, business, facility, vendor, organization or individual that sells or provides merchandise, goods or materials, including without limitation, clothing, or personal items of any kind directly to a customer.

Retail establishments may have incidental food items or beverages sold as part of the retail store. If majority of the sales come from sales of food or beverage items of any kind, then the business is considered a grocery store. "Reusable bag" means either a bag made of cloth or other machine washable fabric that has a handle, or a durable plastic bag with handles that is at least 2.25 mils thick and is specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse. A reusable bag must 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.

"Single-use carryout plastic 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.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014; Ord. 1291 § 1, 2015)

A. No retail establishment in the city shall provide a single-use carryout plastic bag to a customer unless permitted pursuant to Section 5.12.060.

B. No grocery store in the city shall provide any type of single-use carryout plastic bag to a customer at the point of sale except a reusable bag or paper bag unless otherwise permitted pursuant to Section 5.12.060.

C. No person shall distribute a single-use carryout plastic bag at any city facility, city-managed concession, city-sponsored event or city-permitted event unless otherwise permitted pursuant to Section 5.12.060.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

All grocery stores and retail establishments shall only provide, or make available to, a customer reusable bag or a paper bag for the purpose of carrying away goods or other materials from the point of sale, subject to the terms of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter prohibits customers from using bags of any type that they bring to the retail establishment or grocery store themselves or from carrying away goods that are not placed in a bag.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

A. Subject to subsection B of this section, a grocery store may only provide a paper bag to customers if it collects a paper bag cost pass-through from the customer for each paper bag provided.

B. The paper bag cost pass-through shall be ten cents.

C. No grocery store collecting a paper bag cost pass-through pursuant to this section shall rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer for any portion of this paper bag cost pass-through.

D. All grocery stores shall indicate on the customer transaction receipts the number of paper bags provided and the total amount of the paper bag cost pass-through.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

A. Notwithstanding the prohibitions contained in Section 5.12.030:

1. Single-use plastic carryout bags or single-use carryout paper bags may be distributed without charge by restaurants for the transportation of food or beverages that are provided to customers for consumption on premises, for take-out or delivery.

2. Prescription paper may be distributed without charge by a pharmacy for the transportation of prescription medicine.

3. Grocery stores and retail establishments may distribute produce bags or product bags without charge.

4. A paper bag may be distributed without charge by a retail establishment that does not distribute any grocery items, including, but not limited to, fresh, packaged, canned, dry, prepared or frozen food or beverage products and similar items.

B. A grocery store or retail establishment may 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 Section 2 of Division 106 of the 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 one or more paper bags or reusable bags at no cost.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

A. This chapter shall become operative six months after the effective date of the ordinance codified herein for any grocery store or retail establishment that meets the following standards:

1. A full-line grocery store or retail establishment with gross annual sales of two million dollars or more; or

2. A grocery store or retail establishment of at least ten thousand square feet of retail space that sells any perishable or non-perishable goods including, but not limited to, clothing, food, or personal items, and generates sales or use tax pursuant to Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1.5, commencing with Section 7200, of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).

B. This chapter shall become operative twelve months after the effective date of the ordinance codified herein for any grocery store or retail establishment that meets the following standards:

1. A drugstore, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store, convenience food store, foodmart, or other entity engaged in the retail sale of limited line of goods that included milk, bread, soda, and snack foods, including those stores with a Type 20 or 21 license issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control; or

2. A grocery store or retail establishment less than ten thousand square feet of retail space that sells any perishable or non-perishable goods including, but not limited to, clothing, food, or personal items, and generates sales or use tax pursuant to Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1.5, commencing with Section 7200, of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

A. The city manager, or designee, has primary responsibility for enforcement of this chapter. The city manager, or designee, is authorized to promulgate regulations and take any and all other actions reasonable and necessary to enforce this chapter.

B. Any store that violates or fails to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter can be issued a citation.

C. Fines shall be established and set forth by resolution of the city council. Established fines may be modified as appropriate by city resolution.

D. Remedies under this chapter are in addition to and do not supersede or limit any and all other remedies, civil or criminal. The remedies provided for herein shall be cumulative and not exclusive.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)

The city council declares that, should any provision, section, paragraph, sentence or word of this chapter be rendered or declared invalid by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction or by reason of any preemptive legislation, the remaining provisions, sections, paragraphs, sentences or words of this chapter as hereby adopted shall remain in full force and effect.

(Ord. 1271A § 1, 2014; Ord. 1273 § 1, 2014)