means any bag that is provided by a retail establishment
at the point of sale to a customer for use to transport or carry away
purchases, such as merchandise, goods or food, from the retail establishment.
Carry out bags do not include product bags as defined in this Chapter.
means any person or establishment in the City of Santa Monica,
that provides prepared food for public consumption on or off its premises
and includes, without limitation, any store, shop, sales outlet, restaurant,
grocery store, delicatessen, or catering truck or vehicle.
means any retail establishment that sells groceries, fresh,
packaged, canned, dry, prepared or frozen food or beverage products
and similar items, and includes, without limitation, supermarkets,
convenience stores, liquor stores and gasoline stations.
means the cost which must be collected by retailers from
their customers when providing a recycled paper bag.
means any retail store, where prescriptions, medications,
controlled or over the counter drugs, personal care products or health
supplement goods or vitamins are sold, but excluding any licensed
pharmacy located within a hospital.
means any bag, provided to a customer for use within a retail
establishment to assist in the collection or transport of products
to the point of sale within the retail establishment.
means a paper carry out bag provided by a store to a customer
at the point of sale that meets all of the following requirements:
Except as provided in subsection (g)(2), the paper carry out
bag contains a minimum of forty percent postconsumer recycled materials.
An eight-pound or smaller recycled paper bag shall contain a
minimum of twenty percent postconsumer recycled material.
The paper carry out bag is accepted for recycling in curbside
programs in a majority of households that have access to curbside
recycling programs in the City.
The paper carry out bag is capable of composting, consistent
with the timeline and specifications of the American Society of Testing
and Material (ASTM) Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics
D6400, as published in September 2004.
Printed on the paper carry out bag is the minimum percentage
of postconsumer content.
means any person, including any corporation, partnership,
business, facility, vendor, organization or individual, that sells
or provides merchandise, goods or materials, including, without limitation,
clothing, food, or personal items of any kind, directly to a customer.
Retail establishment includes, without limitation, any grocery store,
department store, hardware store, pharmacy, liquor store, restaurant,
catering truck, convenience store, and any other retail store or vendor.
means a bag with handles that is specifically designed and
manufactured for multiple reuse and meets all of the following requirements:
(1) has a minimum lifetime of one hundred twenty-five uses, which
for purposes of this subsection, means the capability of carrying
a minimum of twenty-two pounds one hundred twenty-five times over
a distance of at least one hundred seventy-five feet; (2) has a minimum
volume of fifteen liters; (3) is machine washable or is made from
a material that can be cleaned or disinfected; (4) does not contain
lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts, as defined
by applicable State and Federal standards and regulations for packaging
or reusable bags; (5) has printed on the bag, or on a tag that is
permanently affixed to the bag, the name of the manufacturer, the
location (country) where the bag was manufactured, a statement that
the bag does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in
toxic amounts, and the percentage of postconsumer recycled material
used, if any; and (6) if made of plastic, is a minimum of at least
two and one-quarter mils thick.
means any bag that is less than two and one-quarter mils
thick and is made predominately of plastic derived from petroleum
or from bio-based sources, such as corn or other plant sources.
(Added by Ord. No. 2348CCS §
1, adopted 2/8/11)
(a)
No retail establishment in the City shall provide a single-use plastic carry out bag to a customer unless otherwise permitted pursuant to Section 5.45.040.
(b)
No grocery store or pharmacy in the City shall provide any type of bag to a customer at the point of sale except a reusable bag or a recycled paper bag unless otherwise permitted pursuant to Section 5.45.040.
(c)
No person shall distribute a single-use plastic carry out bag at any City facility, City-managed concession, City-sponsored event, or City-permitted event unless otherwise permitted pursuant to Section 5.45.040.
(d)
No
person shall distribute a single-use plastic carry out bag or any
paper bag at the Santa Monica Farmers Markets, except eight-pound
or smaller recycled paper bags for mushrooms may be distributed free
of charge.
(Added by Ord. No. 2348CCS §
1, adopted 2/8/11)
(a)
Subject to subsection (b) of this Section, a grocery store or pharmacy may only provide a recycled paper bag to a customer if it collects a paper bag cost pass-through from the customer for each recycled paper bag provided.
(b)
The
paper bag cost pass-through shall not be less than ten cents unless
a store has previously submitted a full accounting to the City, signed
by a responsible manager under penalty of perjury that identifies
all costs including bag purchase, shipping, handling and storage,
showing a lesser actual cost to the store for each bag. Any such accounting
shall expire one year from the date of original submission and a new
accounting would need to be resubmitted.
(c)
No
grocery store or pharmacy collecting a paper bag pass-through pursuant
to this Section shall rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer for
any portion of this pass-through.
(d)
All
grocery stores and pharmacies shall indicate on the customer transaction
receipts the number of recycled paper bags provided and the total
amount of the paper bag pass-through.
(e)
On
a semi-annual basis or as otherwise may be required by the Director
of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, or designee,
each grocery store and pharmacy required to collect a paper bag pass-through
shall report to the City, on a form prescribed by the Office of Sustainability
and the Environment, all payments of paper bag pass-throughs received.
The form shall be signed by a responsible officer or agent of the
grocery store or pharmacy who shall swear or affirm that the information
provided on the form is true and complete. Every grocery store or
pharmacy shall also keep complete and accurate record or documents
of the purchase and sale of any recycled paper bag by the grocery
store or pharmacy for a minimum period of three years from the date
of purchase and sale, which record shall be available for inspection
at no cost to the City during regular business hours by an City employee
authorized to enforce this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2348CCS §
1, adopted 2/8/11)
(a)
Notwithstanding the prohibitions contained in Section 5.45.020:
(1)
Single-use plastic carry out bags may be distributed to customers
by food providers for the purpose of safeguarding public health and
safety during the transportation of prepared take-out foods and liquids
intended for consumption away from the food provider’s premises.
(2)
Retail establishments may distribute product bags and may make reusable
bags available to customers whether through sale or otherwise.
(b)
Notwithstanding the requirements contained in Section 5.45.030, a store shall provide a customer participating in the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 123275) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the California Health and Safety Code and a customer participating in the Supplemental Food Program pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 15500) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, with a reusable bag or a recycled paper bag at no cost at the point of sale.
(c)
The
City Manager, or designee, including the Director of the Office of
Sustainability and the Environment (OSE), may exempt a retail establishment
from the requirements of this Chapter for up to a one-year period,
upon a showing by the retail establishment that the conditions of
this Chapter would cause undue hardship. An “undue hardship”
shall only be found in:
(1)
Circumstances or situations unique to the particular retail establishment
such that there are no reasonable alternatives to single-use plastic
carry out bags or a paper bag pass-through cannot be collected; or
(2)
Circumstances or situations unique to the retail establishment such
that compliance with the requirements of this Chapter would deprive
a person of a legally protected right.
(d)
If
a retail establishment requires an exemption beyond the initial exemption
period, the retail establishment must re-apply prior to the end of
the exemption period and must demonstrate continued undue hardship
if it wishes to have the exemption extended. Extensions may only be
granted for intervals not to exceed one year.
(e)
An
exemption application shall include all information necessary for
the City to make its decision, including, but not limited to, documentation
showing the factual support for the claimed exemption. The City Manager
or designee may require the applicant to provide additional information
to permit the City to determine facts regarding the exemption application.
(f)
The
City Manager or designee may approve the exemption application, in
whole or in part, with or without conditions.
(g)
Exemption
decisions are effective immediately, are final and are not appealable.
(h)
The
City Council may by resolution establish a fee for exemption applications.
The fee shall be sufficient to cover the costs or processing the exemption
application.
(Added by Ord. No. 2348CCS §
1, adopted 2/8/11)
(a)
The
City Manager, or designee, is authorized to establish regulations
and to take any and all actions reasonable and necessary to obtain
compliance with this Chapter, including, but not limited to, inspecting
any retail establishment’s premises to verify compliance.
(b)
Any
person violating this Section shall be guilty of an infraction, which
shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars,
or a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a
period not exceeding six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(c)
The
City Attorney may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable relief
to enforce this Chapter.
(d)
Administrative enforcement of this Chapter shall proceed pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 1.09, with the fines to be graduated for repeat violations in amounts set forth by City Council resolution.
(e)
Each
violation of this Chapter shall be considered a separate offense.
(f)
The
remedies and penalties provided in this Section are cumulative and
not exclusive, and nothing in this Chapter shall preclude any person
from pursuing any other remedies provided by law.
(g)
Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Chapter, commencing on September 1, 2011,
this Chapter may be enforced through any remedy as provided for in
this Section. Prior to September 1, 2011, this Chapter shall not be
enforced.
(Added by Ord. No. 2348CCS §
1, adopted 2/8/11)
