Huntington Beach To Study Plastic Bag Ban
"Surf City" wants to get greener.
Monday, Aug 15, 2011 | Updated 10:25 PM PDT
Huntington Beach could become the first city in Orange County to ban plastic bags. But it won't happen just yet
The City Council voted 4-3 Monday night to study the environmental impacts and other issues associated with becoming the first city in Orange County to ban plastic bags.
Council members Connie Boardman, Joe Shaw and Devin Dwyer proposed the ban, similar to those in effect in several other California cities. Plastic shopping bags would replace the reusable kind in grocery stores and at other retailers in Huntington Beach. The ordinance could be modeled after a similar ban, recently approved in Long Beach.
People on both sides of the issue had a chance to speak out at Monday night's city council meeting.
There are seven city council members. Four votes are needed to pass the plastic bag ban. It's not clear if Monday's 4-3 vote means that the measure is headed for final passage.
The Surfrider Foundation supports the bag ban as part of its goal to protect the earth's beaches and oceans.
According to the foundation's Huntington Beach/Seal Beach chapter, Californians are handed about 600 plastic bags every second. Most are used just once and then discarded. Many never reach a trash can. Instead, they end up polluting waterways, clogging storm drains, littering beaches and threatening marine wildlife, according to the Surfrider chapter.
