Plastic bag ban immediate in Scotts Valley

Californians now face a new grocery-store reality: No more plastic bags.
Voters approved Proposition 67, the statewide ban on carry-out plastic bags, 52 percent to 48 percent.
The ban took effect immediately after the vote margin was announced on Nov.9, even though hundreds of thousands of mail and provisional ballot remained to be counted.
The most noticeable impact of the ban was in Scotts Valley, which was alone among Santa Cruz County cities – and the unincorporated areas, in allowing plastic bags. By Friday, all plastics bags had disappeared from grocery stores, retail stores with a pharmacy, convenience stores, food marts, and liquor stores in Scotts Valley.
At Nob Hill Foods, customers felt a double impact of the Nov. 8 vote: the grocery store began charging for paper bags, another provision of the referendum. Prior to the vote, Nob Hill in Scotts Valley had provided either plastic or paper bags at no additional charge.
Californians currently use an estimated 19 billion plastic bags a year, equivalent to 552 for each person, and only five per cent are reused.
Councilwoman Stephany Aguilar had proposed a ban in Scotts Valley in 2011, but the motion that would have started the process failed to gain support from other members of the council The decision came after hearing from dozens San Lorenzo Valley residents and environmental organizations who gave varying opinions on the matter. Some had advocated for the ban of the plastic bags and a fee on paper bags to encourage residents to get into the habit of using reusable bags – which was exactly what California voters approved last week.
Scotts Valley was the last city in the county to permit single-use plastic bags. In 2012, Santa Cruz county passed an ordinance outlawing plastic bags and the cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Watsonville passed similar laws.