5/6/2013--County honored for plastic bag ban
San Mateo Daily Journal
Save the Bay is honoring San Mateo County with its Clean Bay Award for taking charge in
drafting and implementing a plastic bag ban ordinance emulated by nearly all of its cities.
The award, which will be presented Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors by Save the Bay
Executive Director David Lewis, highlights an ordinance that underscores a regional approach is
the best way to rid waterways of plastic, according to the nonprofit.
“Many cities had talked about doing something for years, but lacked the resources to tackle the
lengthy and complicated process of performing an environmental impact report,” said Dean
Peterson, the county’s director of environmental health, in a prepared statement.
All cities in San Mateo County and six cities in Santa Clara County participated in the EIR
process. The county approved its ordinance in October and as of April 22, Earth Day, 12 San
Mateo county cities have followed suit. The city of Woodside opted out of the ban. The cities of
San Carlos, San Mateo and Redwood City will enact the bans at later date.
“San Mateo County residents are proving every day that it’s possible to live with less plastic. We
still occasionally forget to bring our reusable bags with us to the store, but we’re adapting
because we know our environment is better off for it,” said Supervisor Carole Groom in a
prepared statement.