UPDATE: Single-Use Plastic Bags on Tap at 3:30 p.m. Napa City Council Meeting

UPDATE: March 19, 5:30 a.m.

Napa Valley CanDo will present its case for phasing out single-use plastic bags to Napa City Council today at 3:30 p.m.at Napa City Hall.

The group apparently has decided to focus on plastic bags only, a change from an earlier plan to also phase out paper bags.

ORIGINAL STORY, March 5, 2013.

Napa Valley CanDo, which seeks to phase out single use plastic and paper bags, will address the Napa City Council at a meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19.

 "We want to let the council know people support the adoption of an ordinance to phase out single use plastic and paper bags to help promote reusable bag use," said Karen Garcia, a CanDo leader.

Garcia urges Napans who support the cause to attend the meeting. If people can’t make it, they may still send a message of support. Email clerk@cityofnapa.org, or P.O. Box 660, Napa, CA 94559.

Garcia said an estimated 51 million plastic bags are discarded annually in Napa County. T

"hey cause litter, get into the river, bay and ocean harming or killing wildlife, add to the trash going into our landfill and tangle the equipment at our recycling center, causing expensive work stoppages," she said.  "Less than 5 percent are recycled."

Garcia said the bans are necessary because until plastic and paper carryout bags are unavailable or costly, shoppers will not change their habits.

Education programs such as CanDo’s Better Bag Month conducted in Oct. 2011 have proven to be ineffective in changing behavior," she said. Sixty-five  other cities and counties in California have adopted ordinances, usually banning plastic carryout bags and requiring a 10 cent charge on paper carryout bags.

Certain kinds of single use bags would be exempted such as produce bags, food take-out bags, product packaging, dry cleaner bags, and newspaper bags. Recipients of WIC would not have to pay for the paper bags.

Plenty of lead time would allow retailers and shoppers to acquire bags and prepare for the change.

For more information, see www.nvcando.org.

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