Discussions on Proposed Bag Ban Continue

The plastic bag ban in San Jose and surrounding cities has put the issue on many people's minds.

When the ban was put in place, Campbell Patch asked readers whether . A total of 107 residents voted in the poll and 57 percent said that they had been affected, while 10 percent said they were unaffected since they shopped in Campbell.

This last part, however may change in the near future. On Feb 3 Campbell, along with Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga met as part of the West Valley Solid Waste Management Joint Powers Agency Board to discuss whether the city mayors in the West Valley cities. On April 2, however, the Campbell Reporter reported that local mayors, including Campbell's were reluctant to move forward on this issue.

Now, Campbell has joined nearly two dozen cities along the Peninsula and in the South Bay, to conduct public hearings on proposed paper and plastic bag bans.

Business owners and individuals are invited to speak about the possible impact of regulating the use of paper and plastic bags, as cities across the Bay Area consider individual legislation. The public is invited to provide input during the comment period of the review about how the ordinance would affect the public and businesses

Cities and counties around the Bay Area considering plastic and paper bag bans, have also had to weigh the expense of conducting an EIR, since pro-plastic groups sued San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose under the California Environmental Quality Act for failing to do so before passing a plastic bag ban. The joint effort allows small communities to have an EIR.

The hearings began April 18. Campbell's meeting will take place at the Campbell Library on May 2, 6:00 p.m.

The following 24 communities have agreed to be a part of the Environmental impact Report process: 

• Belmont
• Brisbane
• Burlingame
• Campbell
• Colma
• Cupertino
• Daly City
• East Palo Alto
• Foster City
• Half Moon Bay
• Los Altos
• Los Gatos
• Menlo Park
• Millbrae
• Milpitas
• Mountain View
• Pacifica
• Portola Valley
• Redwood City
• San Bruno
• San Carlos
• San Mateo
• South San Francisco
• Woodside

Not every city will host a public hearing, but seven locations were chosen.

April 26

6 p.m.

May 2

6 p.m.

May 3

2 p.m.

May 3

6 p.m.

On May 22, Our City Forest is hosting a free movie screening of "Bag It," a movie following a man's journey investigating the effects of plastic products. The screening will take place at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 150 E. San Fernando St., San Jose from 6:30-8:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A with Beth Terry from the movie.

For more information on the screening or to RSVP, contact Leslie O'Malley at 408-988-7337X108 or email greenandhealthy@ourcityforest.org.