City Leaders to Consider Plastic Bag Ban

The Belmont City Council will consider a and three other items that aim to make Belmont a greener city at a special meeting on Tuesday night.

The Green Advisory Committee will present the four proposed ordinances to the City Council, which will then discuss and take each item into consideration.

In addition to the plastic bag ban, the Green Advisory Committee is recommending an ordinance banning polystyrene, an ordinance for construction and demolition waste recycling, and an ordinance establishing water conservation in landscaping regulations.

None of the proposed ordinances are up for adoption at Tuesday night’s meeting. In order for an ordinance to be approved, a public forum must be held, as well as a first and second reading of the ordinance, City Clerk Terri Cook said.

Tuesday night will be the second time the proposed plastic bag ban has been brought before the council, including when resident Mike Swire introduced the topic in February.

The city council was receptive to the idea at its Feb. 8 meeting, when Swire told the council that the city and its retailers stand to save money should the ban be approved, and instructed the city attorney to explore its legality and how it could be implemented.

The savings to residents is shown through savings to retailers that would no longer purchase plastic bags, therefore passing that cost-savings along to consumers, Swire said at the Feb. 8 city council meeting.

The city would save money in garbage and recycling rates, because the city's garbage company cannot process the bags, and most residents who collect bags put them in their own trash rather than take them to the designated recycling bin at Safeway, Swire said.

Tuesday’s city council meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1 Twin Pines Lane. The council normally meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month.