UPDATE: Feb. 17, 2015, 7:29 a.m.
Del Mar is now the third San Diego County city to approve a ban on single-use plastic bags. The Del Mar City Council voted 5-0 to approve the ban Tuesday night.
Original story:
Del Mar could become the third San Diego County municipality to approve a single-use plastic bag ban.
Two other San Diego communities already ban plastic bags. Encinitas and Solana Beach both outlawed the use of the bags at large retailers and grocery stores. Del Mar doesn't have those stores so the proposed legislation focuses on restaurants.
The Del Mar City Council is slated to take up the issue at its Tuesday evening meeting.
Ban supporters argue the bags end up in waterways and the ocean far too often. Supporters of the bags said the bags can be recycled and bans do nothing to combat litter.
"They're lightweight. I'm sure you've seen plastic bags floating on a windy day, up in the air. And those bags go out onto our beaches and or oceans. Plastic bags are the fourth most common plastic waste that Surfrider finds on their beach clean-ups," said Michael Torti of Surfrider Foundation San Diego chapter.
There's a chance voters will be able to decide this fall whether a statewide ban should be implemented. The legislature passed a statewide ban but the measure was challenged and now will have to get public approval before being implemented.
"The way that SB 270 is drafted it will have little impact in reducing plastic bags since the state bill does not include restaurants. Although we feel positive that, hopefully the state bill will pass, but that's not for sure," Torti said.
So far 148 community's around the state have approved plastic bag bans. Several cities in the county, including San Diego, are also considering bans.
