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Breaking news today, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has announced that they will be banning plastic bags at its 10 theme parks.

SeaWorld says that this ban will keep an estimated 4 million plastic bags from entering landfills and the environment each year.  Additionally, every year 1.4 billions tons of trash , including plastic bags, enters the ocean.  Endangered sea turtles often confuse plastic bags with one of their favorite foods, jelly fish.  According to Jim Atchison, President and CEO of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, “This is a significant change for our company, one we hope will provide a model for our industry overall.  Eliminating plastic bags is an important statement about our commitment to the environment, as well as the need to help protect marine animals from debris.  It also allows our guests to play a direct part in making a difference on our planet.”

In 2011 SeaWorld San Diego discontinued the use of plastic bags to mark the opening of its new Turtle Reef attraction.  This was the company’s first exploration of the concept and now SeaWorld Orlando will be eliminating the bags this month along with the opening of its new Turtle Trek attraction.

The park gift shops will now offer paper bags made from 100 recycled paper or guests can purchase company-branded reusable bags that sell for anywhere from $1.49 to $9.95 apiece.

In addition to the elimination of plastic bags, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and The Coca-Cola Company are launching the introduction of drinking cups at all the parks that are made with 85% renewable resources.  This is to be part of a new 10-year partnership between the two.  According to SeaWorld,  park patrons use more than 13 million cups each year throughout the 10 parks.

Headquartered in Orlando, FL, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment owns and operates SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego, Busch Gardens Tampa, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Discovery Cove and Aquatica in Orlando, Adventure Island in Tampa, Water Country USA in Williamsburg and Sesame Place in Langhome, PA near Philadelphia.

At a standard meeting of the City Council, held on February 14, 2012, the City of Millbrae, which is located in San Mateo County, just west of San Francisco Bay, passed and adopted the Single-Use Carryout Bag Regulations ordinance. Ordinance No. 742 was passed unanimously by all five members of the Council.

The ordinance was added to the Millbrae Municpal Code and legislates three items.  It prohibits the distribution of single-use carryout bags, prohibits the free distribution of recycled-content paper bags by retail establishments, and designates a Code Enforcement Officer/Community Preservation Specialist.

Effective September 1st 2012, the ordinance will be in effect for all retailers except dry cleaners, restaurants, and non-profits. The legislation states that no retailer may provide a single-use carryout bag to any customer. These retailers may provide a recycled-content paper bag for a minimum charge of ten cents. A reusable shopping bag may also be provided for a per-bag charge.

In effect, this ordinance eradicates single-use plastic bags altogether. The legislation has established stringent requirements that the recycled-content paper bags must meet. Reusable shopping bags can be made of plastic if they are washable or capable of being cleaned and disinfected, they are at least 2.25 mils thick and are made of recyclable plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

One more victory for the environment in the Bay Area, as Millbrae is between San Francisco and San Jose, both of which have plastic bag bans in place.

Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider’s suggestion of drafting an ordinance to ban plastic bag use, that could serve as a model for the region, is supported by members of the Santa Barbara City Council.   With more than 20 jurisdictions in California with plastic bag bans, Santa Barbara could soon be added to this list.

Santa Barbara has been considering a bag ban for years, especially given the sheer number of plastic bags that end up as litter, the impact on the environment and the pure volume dumped every year in the Tajiguas Landfill.

Education-focused, voluntary efforts through the “Where’s Your Bag?” campaign encourages residents of Santa Barbara to bring their reusable shopping bags on shopping trips, especially when going to the grocery store, which ultimately gets stores involved.  Three are participating, Tri-County Produce, Lazy Acres and Scolari’s.

Tri-County owner John Dixon encourages his customers to bring their reusable shopping bags and even gives 5 cents to charity for each one.  They have donated more than $7,000. so far.  He reports that reusable bag use has increased by 60%.

According to Kathi King of the Community Environmental Council, regions that have similar ordinances in effect have a majority of customers, approximately 70-98 percent, using reusable shopping bags instead of the 10-cent paper bags accessible to them.

Santa Barbara City Councilman Dale Francisco advocated  for a regional bag ban approach since BEACON – the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment – offered to do the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) for its coverage area of Point Mugu north to Point Conception.  Whatever cities wanted to participate could certainly draft an ordinance of their own, share in the EIR cost, and see that ordinances were put into action at the same time so merchants wouldn’t be disadvantaged.  Mayor Schneider said the approach would delay solutions and the city should draft a model for the region, then have BEACON do the environmental review.

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 5-2 to pursue Schneider’s approach.  More to come when the City Council ponders other considerations.

The City Councils of Laguna Beach and Dana Point have voted to pass ordinances to ban businesses from providing single-use plastic bags to customers.  The cities are the first ones in Orange County to ban plastic bags and to join at least 20 other cities in California that have similar bans.

On February 28th, 2012 the Laguna Beach City Council approved its Disposable Bag Reduction Ordinance without opposition.  The intent of this ordinance is to significantly reduce the environmental impacts related to single-use plastic bags and paper carryout bags and to promote a major shift towards the use of reusable shopping bags.

The ordinance will become effective on January 1st, 2013.  All retail establishments must comply with this ordinance, with the exception of restaurants.  Take-out food establishments and food vendors are prohibited from providing single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale.  Further, the ordinance requires retail establishments to charge customers 10 cents for each recycled paper carryout bag requested.

On March 6th, 2012 the City of Dana Point  passed an ordinance which prohibits the distribution of plastic carryout bags.  The City Council passed the ordinance by a 4-1 vote.

The ordinance calls for an 18-month extension for small business. However the ordinance becomes effective April 1st, 2013 for businesses that generate over $4 million in annual sales and October 1st, 2013 for other business.

The ordinance stipulates that no affected retail establishment shall provide plastic carry-out bags to customers at the point of sale.  Although the ordinance did not set a fee for other types of bags, it strongly encouraged retailers to provide incentives to customers who use reusable shopping bags and to charge for each paper bag distributed.  Restaurants will be exempt from this ordinance.

Additional cities in Orange County may soon impose similar ordinances.  Huntington Beach is studying the environmental effects of a potential ordinance, and San Clemente has already discussed the issue at a priorities meeting on February 15th.

On Wednesday, April 4th, 2012, a Los Angeles City Council committee moved forward with a plan to end the use of plastic and paper bags at supermarket checkout lines, indicating that such a move would urge consumers to switch to more environmentally friendly reusable shopping bags.

The five-member Energy and Environment Committee proposed that City Council conduct an environmental review of a single-use bag ban and draft an ordinance establishing it.  They called for an environmental review of the plan to get rid of all single-use bags over an 18-month period.

According to Councilman Paul Koretz, who wrote the proposal, the City would spend six months educating the public about the phase out, after which time it would ban plastic bags and require a 10-cent charge on paper bags.  One year later, paper bags will also be banned in the city. The ban would apply to an estimated 7,500 businesses, primarily grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores.  It would not include restaurants.

Within 2 weeks of the Energy and Environment Committee vote, the full City Council will consider the proposal.  This will trigger a four-to-six-month environmental review.

Councilman Koretz said he is “embarrassed” that the city has been so slow to ban single-use bags and has lost the chance to be a leader on this very important issue.  ”Now we are being surpassed by other cities, ” he said.  In addition, the “Los Angeles Times” editorial staff has also come out in total support of a ban, writing on Wednesday, April 4th, “L.A.’s delay in banning single-use, carry-out plastic bags has put it behind dozens of other municipalities in the state.  With a recycling rate of only 5%, the bags are an environmental menace that we can easily do without.”

The single-use plastic bag ban has been supported by a number of environmental groups.  Additionally, Councilman Dennis Zine said that a plastic bag ban would cause the public to rely on reusable shopping bags. “People will adjust,” he said.  ”They’ll adapt…and learn to take it with them.”

Bainbridge Island, Washington is just a 35-minute ferry ride west of Seattle.  This beautiful island is surrounded by scenic beaches and incredible views of the Olympic Mountains to the west and Mt. Rainier to the east.

The Bainbridge Island City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 which bans single-use, carry-out plastic bags.  This ordinance will take effect November 1st, 2012.

As the proposal came before the policymakers, the Council chamber was filled with residents advocating support for this ban.  Even Brainbridge High School students were among those lobbying and obtaining signatures in support of the plastic bag ban.    As Councilwoman Kirsten Hytopoulos, who wrote the law, so accurately put it, “It’s an expression of our community values.”

Bainbridge Island has an incredibly strong environmental ethic.  The environmental education center, Islandwood, offers programs for all ages, and Bainbridge Graduate Institute even offers advanced degrees that integrate environmentally and socially responsible innovations with traditional business education.

The plastic bag ban does not apply to plastic bags used by customers inside the store to package flowers or foods, nor does it apply to newspaper bags, door-hanger bags, garbage or yard waste bags or bags intended for pet waste.

The Bainbridge Island ordinance also places a five-cent fee on paper bags given to customers in the checkout lines.  As the ordinance states, the five-cent charge is meant to “discourage the use of single-use, throw-away items of all types which can be accomplished through price signals.”  This will ultimately promote a major shift towards the use of reusable shopping bags and totes.

The Washington cities of Seattle, Bellingham, Edmonds and Mukilteo have also enacted bans on single-use plastic bags.  Now, Bainbridge Island is among the most progressive cities in the state,  making them a proud #5.

On the evening of April 10, 2012 the Ojai City Council adopted a single-use bag ordinance, which brings the total number of California cities and counties with plastic bag bans to 44.   Ojai is proudly the first city in Ventura County with a plastic bag ban.  The City Council vote was unanimous.

The plastic bag ban will take effect July 1st, 2012.  The ordinance applies to all “retail establishments” in the City of  Ojai, including grocery, department, liquor, convenience,  pharmacy and hardware stores. It will also include the Ojai farmers market but not restaurants.

Retail establishments must charge a 10-cent fee to anyone wanting a paper bag. This fee will be retained by the retailers and is designed to encourage people to switch to reusable shopping bags.

The ordinance is widely supported by groups such as the Surfrider Foundation and the Ojai Valley Green Coalition.

Congratulations to the City of Ojai for its environmental leadership on this issue!