Laserfiche WebLink
ipio. <br /> ORDINANCE No. . <br /> j <br /> AN ORDINANCE Relating to Reusable Bags, Adding a New Chapter Entitled Reusable Bags <br /> to Title 8 EMC (Health and Safety) <br /> WHEREAS,citizens have requested the City Council enact an Ordinance relating to disposable <br /> plastic waste, including plastic bags, out of concerns for the environment; and <br /> WHEREAS,the City Council desires to conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, <br /> waste, litter, and marine pollution, and to protect the public health and welfare, including <br /> wildlife, all of which increase the quality of life for the City's residents; and <br /> WHEREAS,the State Legislature, in RCW 70.95.010(4), established waste reduction as a <br /> fundamental strategy of solid waste management, including changing purchasing practices to <br /> reduce the amount of waste that becomes a governmental responsibility; and <br /> WHEREAS,the State Legislature, in RCW 70.95.010(6)(c), found that it is the responsibility of <br /> city governments "to assume primary responsibility for solid waste management and to develop <br /> and implement aggressive and effective waste reduction and source separation strategies;" and <br /> WHEREAS,less reliance on single-use carryout bags contributes toward the goals of <br /> conserving energy and natural resources while reducing greenhouse gases and litter; and <br /> WHEREAS,plastic bags are made of nonrenewable resources and never biodegrade; they <br /> photo-degrade and can take hundreds of years to break down into tiny toxic bits which can seep <br /> into the soil, waterways, lakes, and bays,posing a threat to animal life and the natural food <br /> chain; and <br /> WHEREAS,the Ocean Conservancy cited plastic bags as within the most collected items in the <br /> ocean trash index for Washington State per the Building a Clean Swell 2018 Report; and <br /> WHEREAS the Washington State Department of Ecology's 2010 "Beyond the Curb" study of <br /> commingled residential recyclables from the Southwest Region estimates that it takes $700- <br /> $1,000 per ton for recycling centers to remove plastic films from other recyclables; and <br /> WHEREAS,the City finds that composting is threatened because of contamination by <br /> confusingly colored, marked and look-alike materials, including some non-compostable plastic <br /> film bags; and <br /> 6 <br />