Resolution

Recognizing December 20, 2007 as

“A Day Without A Bag”

in the City of Santa Monica

WHEREAS, each year, approximately 6 billion plastic carryout bags are used in Los Angeles County¹; and,

WHEREAS, in the United States, less than 5 percent of plastic bags are recycled²; and,

WHEREAS, the indiscriminate disposal of plastic bags is an increasing blight problem, because plastic bags create significant litter problems for Santa Monica streets, beaches, and the marine environment; and,

WHEREAS, over 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine animals, and countless fish die annually through ingestion of and entanglement in marine debris, including plastic bags³; and,

WHEREAS, each year, the State of California spends approximately $25 million to landfill discarded plastic bags⁴; and,

WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has set solid waste reduction and recycling goals, and is considering joining other municipalities in taking action against the unchecked proliferation of plastic bags⁵; and,

WHEREAS, reusable bags contribute towards environmental sustainability over single-use plastic and paper carryout bags; and,

WHEREAS, Heal the Bay and its community partners are urging shoppers to forego single-use plastic and paper bags in favor of reusable tote bags to recognize “A Day Without A Bag”;

Therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Santa Monica City Council hereby recognizes December 20, 2007 as “A Day Without a Bag” in Santa Monica.

[1] Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, (August 2007) “An Overview of Carryout Bags in Los Angeles County: A Staff Report to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.”

2 US EPA 2005 Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste, Table 4; Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, (August 2007) “An Overview of Carryout Bags in Los Angeles County: A Staff Report to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.”

3 N. Wallace. “Debris entanglement in the marine environment: A review” ( 985) pp. 259-277 in: R.S. Shomura and H.O. Yoshida (eds.), Proceedings of the Workshop on the Fate and Impact of Marine Debris, U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum. NMFS, NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFC-5; S. Casey, (2006) “Our Oceans are Turning in to Plastic, Are we?” Best Life: 103-109.

4 Californians Against Waste, http://www.cawrecycles.org/plastic_campaing/plastic_bags/problem?PHPSESSID=519f35bd2.

5 City of Oakland, City of San Francisco, Ireland, and South Africa. (More information is available within: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, (August 2007) “An Overview of Carryout Bags in Los Angeles County: A Staff Report to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.”)