Posted on Categories Sustainable Living, WaterTags , Leave a comment on Makers of plastic bags gather signatures to overturn ban

Makers of plastic bags gather signatures to overturn ban

Peter Fimrite, SFGATE.COM

The bag backlash has been sweeping across the country mainly because the billion disposable plastic shopping bags a year that are thrown away find their way into storm drains, creeks and rivers that flow into the ocean. Scientists have documented a giant floating patch of plastic and other debris twice the size of Texas that has accumulated in an area of the Pacific Ocean known as the North Pacific Gyre.

Plastics manufacturers and their supporters announced Monday that they have collected enough signatures to put California’s plastic-bag ban up for a vote, a move that would extend the saber-rattling over the landmark law for at least another year.
Opponents of the law banning single-use plastic bags — which is supposed to go into effect July 1 — collected more than 800,000 signatures when they needed only 504,760 to qualify for a referendum, according to representatives of the trade group American Progressive Bag Alliance.
Read more via Makers of plastic bags gather signatures to overturn ban – SFGate.

Posted on Categories Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Plastic bag-ban supporters complain referendum drive is misleading

Plastic bag-ban supporters complain referendum drive is misleading

Patrick McGreevy, LOS ANGELES TIMES
Supporters of a state ban on single-use plastic grocery bags filed a complaint Monday, calling for the secretary of state to investigate allegations that opponents seeking to overturn the measure are misleading voters to get them to sign petitions that would place the matter on the ballot.
Gov. Jerry Brown in September signed the legislation that requires grocery stores and pharmacies to stop dispensing single-use plastic bags in July and instead offer paper and reusable plastic bags, and charge at least 10 cents each for those alternatives.
The bag-makers group, the American Progressive Bag Alliance, is seeking to overturn the law, arguing it will not improve the environment but will enrich stores charging 10 cents for alternative bags.
The bag makers face a Dec. 29 deadline to file 504,760 signatures in order to qualify a referendum that would put the new law on hold until Californians can vote on the measure in November 2016.
In a written complaint, the group California vs. Big Plastic, which supports the law and opposes the drive for the referendum, said that several voters were misled by signature gatherers who told them they needed to sign the petitions to save the law or to make it statewide or nationwide. The law would take effect statewide in July if the referendum does not qualify.
Read more via Plastic bag-ban supporters complain referendum drive is misleading – LA Times.

Posted on Categories Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on California plastic bag ban signed, setting off sweeping changes

California plastic bag ban signed, setting off sweeping changes

Jeremy B. White, THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Time to invest in a reusable shopping bag.
Concluding the long odyssey of one of the most contentious bills of 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation phasing out the single-use plastic bags that grocery stores and other retailers use to package products at the checkout line. Brown’s assent hands a sweeping victory to environmentalists and vindicates the scores of cities and counties that have already banned bags.
“This bill is a step in the right direction – it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” Brown wrote in a signing message. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.”
Minutes after Brown announced signing the bill, an industry group called the American Progressive Bag Alliance vowed to begin collecting signatures in an effort to overturn the law via a referendum on the 2016 ballot.
Read more via California plastic bag ban signed, setting off sweeping changes – Capitol Alert – The Sacramento Bee.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Deal to privatize county landfill operations now before cities

Deal to privatize county landfill operations now before cities

Kevin McCallum, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The fate of a long-sought deal to privatize the operation of Sonoma County’s landfill now rests with the nine cities that are being asked to commit their garbage to the operation for the next 25 years.

Negotiations between the cities and the county over potential future landfill liabilities have dragged on for more than a year, delaying plans for Arizona-based Republic Services to take over the troubled Meecham Road facility long-term.

Santa Rosa, which has taken the lead in those negotiations, is set to be the first city to consider a series of agreements that aim to resolve the outstanding liability issues. The deals could also boost the estimated value of Republic’s proposed contract by more than $100 million.

The Santa Rosa City Council is taking up the complex set of agreements Tuesday night.

via Deal to privatize county landfill operations now before | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sustainable Living, WaterTags , , , Leave a comment on Sonoma County composting program faces uncertain future

Sonoma County composting program faces uncertain future

Kevin McCallum, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County’s 21-year-old composting program could be scrapped if water quality regulators don’t back off a threat to impose stiff fines for runoff that has been fouling a creek near the county’s central landfill for years.

The composting operation, which sits atop the landfill but operates independently, has until Oct. 1 to clean up its act or face millions in penalties in the event a major storm overwhelms the undersized storage ponds at the 25-acre site.

But Sonoma County Waste Management Agency officials say their solution — construction of a massive stormwater holding pond at the north end of the Mecham Road landfill — can’t possibly be designed, permitted and built by October. They say they need relief from the proposed deadline and fines before they can move forward.

If regulators don’t give them either, they warn they may have to shut down the composting operation and begin hauling yard waste out of the county, much like the county did with its garbage when the central landfill was closed by regulators in 2005.

via Sonoma County composting program faces uncertain future | Petaluma360.com | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Petaluma, CA.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sustainable LivingTags , , Leave a comment on Recovery facility approved for Sonoma County landfill

Recovery facility approved for Sonoma County landfill

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

By approving development of a solid waste sorting and recovery facility at the central landfill on Meacham Road, Sonoma County has taken a key step toward its long-term goal of keeping all refuse out of the ground.

Some details remain to be worked out, but the Board of Supervisors approved a permit for the landfill operator, Arizona-based Republic Services, to build a materials recovery facility inside an existing building at the landfill west of Cotati.

“It’s close,” said Supervisor Shirlee Zane, chairwoman of the Sonoma County/City Solid Waste Advisory Group.

Republic Services is obliged to build the facility at its own expense under the terms of a 20-year landfill management agreement worth an estimated $547 million.

Opposition from neighbors of the landfill had prompted supervisors to postpone approval of the use permit, which came on a unanimous vote Tuesday.

via Recovery facility approved for Sonoma County landfill | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Bring your own bags – county's plastic bag ban starts today

Bring your own bags – county's plastic bag ban starts today

Kevin McCallum, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County’s ban on single-use plastic bags goes into effect today, but shoppers may face a mixed bag of policies until enforcement begins September 1.

Some retailers who publicly supported the ban, such as Oliver’s Markets, are embracing the ban and Friday will stop offering customers plastic bags and start charging them 10 cents per paper bag.

“We lobbied for this law we believe in it, so we’re going to move forward and comply with the law fully,” said Tom Scott, general manager of Oliver’s, which has two stores in Santa Rosa and one in Cotati.

Others like G&G Market are planning to work through their inventory of existing plastic bags and hold off charging shoppers for paper bags as long as possible.

via County's plastic bag ban starts Friday | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Sonoma County BANS Plastic Bags starting March 21, 2014

Sonoma County BANS Plastic Bags starting March 21, 2014

SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE

The Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, a Joint Powers Authority composed of the Cities of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Sonoma; the Town of Windsor; and the County of Sonoma, voted unanimously today to adopt an ordinance to reduce carryout bag waste throughout Sonoma County.

“This ordinance will cause a dramatic decrease in the estimated 258 million plastic carryout bags used throughout Sonoma County annually,” said Henry Mikus, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency.  The ordinance is effective on March 21, 2014, and retailers are encouraged to phase out their existing stock of plastic carryout bags as soon as possible, but enforcement will not begin until September 1, 2014.  The ordinance will be effective countywide unless a member jurisdiction formally opts out of the ordinance.

This carryout bag waste reduction ordinance prohibits retail establishments (excluding public eating establishments and nonprofit charitable reusers, as defined by the ordinance) from providing customers with plastic carryout bags at the point of sale or other departure point. 

Bags exempt from this ordinance include plastic bags without handles

(1) to transport produce, bulk food or meat from a produce, bulk food or meat department within a store to the point of sale;

(2) bags used to hold prescription medication dispensed from a pharmacy; or

(3) bags used to segregate food or merchandise that could damage or contaminate other food or merchandise when placed together in a reusable or recycled paper bag. 

Paper bags made of at least 40% post consumer recycled content may be provided to customers for a minimum charge of $0.10 per bag.  Reusable bags, as defined by the Ordinance, may also be provided to customers. 

Retail establishments will be required to maintain accurate records of the number of recycled-content paper bags purchased and sold for a minimum of three years.  Violation of the carryout bag waste reduction ordinance would be an infraction, subject to fine, as defined by the administrative penalties ordinance.

Please visit http://www.recyclenow.org/reduce/carryout_bag_reduction.asp for more information.

via Sonoma County BANS Plastic Bags starting March 21, 2014.

Posted on Categories Sustainable LivingTags , , Leave a comment on Hearing continues on disputed recycling facility at county landfill

Hearing continues on disputed recycling facility at county landfill

Brett Wilkison, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A planned recycling facility at the Sonoma County landfill that has been caught up in a lawsuit is set for a second round of public input after its permit hearing before the Board of Supervisors was continued Tuesday.

The project calls for installation of a mechanized solid waste sorting and recovery operation inside the existing transfer station at the central landfill off Meacham Road west of Cotati.

The plans are part of the county’s effort to boost recycling of reusable material now being disposed at the landfill, thereby increasing the site’s lifespan and cutting down on carbon emissions from decaying garbage.

“When we divert more material, we create a cleaner environment,” said Supervisor Shirlee Zane, a strong supporter of the recycling project.

It was packaged within a larger deal approved by the county last year to turn over operation of the landfill to a private operator under a 20-year agreement worth an estimated $547 million.

via Hearing continues on disputed recycling facility at county landfill | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Countywide plastic bag ban could be in place in March

Countywide plastic bag ban could be in place in March

Brett Wilkison, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

For Sonoma County shoppers, the days of choosing between between paper and plastic bags at checkout lines are officially coming to an end.

On Wednesday, a long delayed move to ban carryout plastic bags at most retail outlets countywide cleared the first of two formal votes, setting in motion steps to implement the new regulation by mid-March.

Supporters hailed the progress after three years of planning, studies and setbacks, including a sticking point raised by the city of Santa Rosa last year that threatened to sink the whole proposal.

via Countywide plastic bag ban could be in place in March | The Press Democrat.