By Khalida Sarwari
Plastic and paper shopping bags may soon no longer be an option at San Jose stores after the City Council voted Tuesday to ban them at all retailers beginning in 2001.
The City Council voted 9-1 to ban single-use plastic and paper bags effective Dec. 31, 2010.
Shoppers would need to either bring their own reusable bags or use “green” single-use paper bags — bags with recycled content of 40 percent or more.
Restaurants, nonprofits and social service organizations would be exempt from the ban.
Residents and businesses will still be able to buy plastic bags in bulk or off-the-shelf, city spokeswoman Michelle McGurk said.
Proponents of the ban say it will reduce trash that collects in landfills, local streams, waterways and freeways. The city estimates that about 500 million plastic bags are used each year in San Jose, of which only 1 percent are recycled.
Before the ban takes effect, the proposal must undergo an environmental impact study that will require final approval by the City Council sometime around March 2010.
In the meantime, city staff will conduct a public outreach campaign to businesses and consumers, McGurk said.
City staff will also work with the retail industry to determine whether a 10- or 25-cent per-bag fee to cover the additional costs of using “green” paper bags would be appropriate.
At the council meeting Tuesday, representatives from various merchant associations argued that the issue should be handled at the state level to establish a single set of regulations, McGurk said.
McGurk said that if the state Legislature passes legislation relating to a fee or ban on single-use bags, the City Council would revisit the issue to determine whether to keep the municipal ordinance.
Councilman Pete Constant voted against the ban and Councilwoman Rose Herrera was absent from the meeting due to illness.
In 2007, San Francisco became the nation’s first city to ban plastic bags.