HomeMy WebLinkAbout13. A Day Without A Bag
AGENDA MEMO
DATE:
December 14, 2010
TO:
Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Office of the City Manager
Desi Alvarez, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT: “A DAY WITHOUT A BAG”
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council,
1. Declare December 16, 2010 as the City’s “A Day Without A Bag”; and,
2. Recognize Lars and Kathy Clutterham for their generous donation to the City’s
“A Day Without A Bag” program
BACKGROUND
Every year, approximately six billion single-use plastic bags (which on a per capita basis
exceeds 600 bags per person) are used in the County of Los Angeles. Only 5 percent
of the plastic bags are recycled, while the majority of plastic bags constitute a significant
amount of the litter that pollutes our open spaces and waterways, or ends up in our
landfills. The recycling of plastic bags is not cost efficient due to the lack of suitable
markets and the tendency of the bags to interfere with and jam the machinery used to
separate materials.
In October 2009, the Green Task Force recommended, and the City Council adopted, a
resolution establishing the third Thursday of each December as “A Day Without A Bag”
and directed the performance of public outreach and education on the environmental
impact of disposable bags.
Heal the Bay has been instrumental in coordinating a county-wide campaign to make
the public aware of the amount of trash generated by the one time use of bags for their
groceries and other purchases. The City has coordinated with Heal the Bay on
developing a program to make Downey residents aware of this problem. As part of this
county-wide program, the following activities will take place:
- Ralph’s Grocery Stores will double rewards points for customers bringing in
reusable bags,
- 99-Cents Stores will give every customer a reusable bag with a purchase of
$29.99 or more,
- Subaru Dealerships are giving away reusable bags.
Heal the Bay is providing the City with two hundred reusable bags that will be given
away at City Hall on a first come first serve basis.
CITY OF DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA
Supplementing these activities, the City of Downey will run a public announcement on
the message marquee on Firestone Boulevard (in the Embassy Suites parking lot)
reminding the public to use reusable bags. Also, every patron visiting the Downey City
th
Library on Thursday, December 16 will receive a reusable bag. The Library bag
giveaway is made possible by a generous donation from Lars and Kathy Clutterham.
FISCAL IMPACT
The funding for the reusable bag giveaway is provided through a private donation. No
General Fund dollars will be used in this event.