Tuesday, October 11, 9:15 a.m., Council Hearing Room
— from Ingrid Gabriel —
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAGS IN RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the San Juan County Council will conduct a public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony on a proposed Ordinance regulating the distribution of single-use carryout bags in retail establishments. The public hearing will be held in the Council Hearing Room at 55 Second Street, Friday Harbor, Washington on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 beginning at 9:15 AM. The hearing may be continued from time to time and place to place as may be desired by the Council without additional written notice.
At the hearing, members of the public will be invited to speak and/or provide written statements regarding the proposed Ordinance. The proposed Ordinance would: (1) establish definitions; (2) restrict the distribution of single-use plastic carryout bags by retail establishments in unincorporated San Juan County; (3) provide for exemptions; and (4) make violation of the new ordinance a Class I civil infraction. The ordinance does not prohibit retail establishments from providing reusable or recycled paper carryout bags. After the public testimony portion of the hearing has ended, the Council will deliberate and consider modifications to the Ordinance that are proposed by members of the public, county employees or the Council. The proposed Ordinance may then be adopted with or without modifications in a new chapter in Title 5 of the San Juan County Code entitled, “Single-Use Carryout Bags.”
All persons wishing to be heard on this matter are encouraged to attend. Written comments may be submitted in advance of the hearing by mail or at the hearing by delivery in person. Please deliver 5 copies of all written comments to the Clerk of the San Juan County Council at 55 Second Street, Friday Harbor or mail to 355 Court Street#1, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. The Ordinances are filed at the Office of the County Council, 55 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA and may be inspected and copies obtained at the Council offices during each business day between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m 10 days prior to the hearing.
The Ordinance may also be viewed 24 hours a day at the County website 10 days prior the hearing at sanjuanco.com/901/Pending-Ordinances. A copy of the proposed Ordinance will be mailed without charge upon request. For more information, please contact the Clerk of the County Council at 360-370-7472 and/or Mark Herrenkohl, Solid Waste Program Administrator, at 360-370-0534.
Another stunt by the politically correct front. These so-called single use bags often get used more than once for garbage, as an example. If the Council really wants to help save the Orcas environment it would cease supporting the tourism industry which brings littering tourists with their gas burning vehicles, the supposed need for streetlights in Eastsound, etc. Yes I know I am not politically correct but sometimes truth isn’t politically correct.
Single use (plastic, I guess) bags are certainly a problem when they are not reused and/or recycled. They hurt the environment.
I try to recycle my bags and pick up others if find lying around. Lots of people do the same.
The problem here is a number of people who don’t care or won’t take the time to dispose of these bags properly.
Why not go after these people rather than all the rest of us who use and dispose of them properly?
Now I’m going to have to buy bags to pick up my dogs’ poop on their walks, thus increasing demand for, and production of, plastic bags. Brilliant. This is one of those symbolic gestures that seem to take up too much of our Council’s time.
Good comments from people who care. Thank you. I avoid plastic bags whenever I can but when I do get them, they are used and reused and then disposed of as thoughtfully as possible. Never littered! On another note, I would respectfully encourage the owners of Island Market to take their brown bags one step further — print on them in some large and fun font, that they are to be reused. Most of us islanders do that already but I think visitors do not, generally. The bags are super useful and should never end up in the trash until well worn out. Even then they can be use as fire starters, etc.
I understand that there are exemptions for some plastic bags, like the ones we use to collect vegetable scraps for chicken feed, and which we would miss. Perhaps Orcas Issues can post the actual ordinance?
Reading the text of the proposed ordinance, I see so many exemptions that the measure seems more of a feel-good virtue-signaling law than a serious attempt to go after the problem. It also only covers unincorporated San Juan County – what approach is the Town of Friday Harbor taking?
The text can be found through the link in the original news story above, or you can go there directly for now at:
https://sanjuanco.com/DocumentCenter/View/10558
Please consider using biodegradable bags for compost and cleaning up after dogs. Island Market carries biodegradable compost bags and I’m almost certain Pawki’s carries the biodegradable doggie bags.
Can someone please let me know what a single use bag is?
I’ve got a pantry full of all sorts of bags on their second, third and fourth uses. Not sure what this single use animal is?
Brian,
Thanks for posting the link.
It is good to know that the council is considering handing the prosecuting attorney the job of hunting down local retailers and consumers so that he can spend valuable time and government resources to prosecute the use of overly-thin plastic bags.
Things must be going REALLY well in our county if this is what the council is spending their time debating.