UPDATE: The San Juan County Council adopted the single-use plastic carry-out bag ban during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
The San Juan County Council is continuing to move forward on a county-wide ban on single-use plastic carry-out bags at retail establishments. Introduced to the council in May and spearheaded by the county’s solid waste program administrator, Mark Herrenkohl, the ban was discussed again at a recent council meeting. During the latest discussion, the council asked Herrenkohl to conduct a little more research and to consider removing the exemption for takeout food bags included in the current wording.
“We haven’t approved it yet; we’re waiting for him to investigate,” said council member Rick Hughes. “I think most places aren’t choosing plastic anyway.”
Herrenkohl will poll takeout restaurants in the county to determine how the ban might affect them, and will report his findings back to the council.
While many major island retailers have already chosen not to use single-use plastic bags, Hughes said, “I just think it sets a good standard for our community in trying to be responsible. We’ll be joining others like Seattle and Whatcom County that have already taken action. Plastic bags tend to be the thing that gets washed into the water the most.”
Once the county council hears Herrenkohl’s results, it will make a decision on passing the plastic bag ban. The council considered adopting the ordinance on Oct. 25 after this paper went to press. (Check out sanjuanjournal.com for updates.) If the ban is passed, the ordinance would provide a grace period of several months to allow island businesses to use up their current supplies of the banned bags. As currently worded, the ban makes allowances for plastic bags used to contain meat, ice cream and produce.
“We’re trying to do the right thing without causing any undue burden on local businesses,” said Hughes. “I’m hoping this is a relatively easy solution.”
A statewide single-use plastic bag ban, SB 5432, was introduced in 2015, but has yet to be approved. These jurisdictions currently have single-use plastic bag bans in place: Bainbridge Island, Bellingham, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kirkland, Lacey, Mukilteo, Olympia, Port Townsend, Seattle, Shoreline, Tacoma, Thurston County and Tumwater.
