Online Petition Urges Council to Ban Plastic Bags

Update, April 30: Organizer Stephanie Dreyer said the plastic bag ban petition is part of a Girl Scout troop project to earn a Journey badge. The girls have already collected over 200 signatures in person, she said, and the online support would be in addition to what has already been gathered. The troop plans to make a presentation to the City Council at its meeting on May 14. 

A petition on Change.org is calling on the Hermosa Beach City Council to ban plastic bags.

As of Monday, 110 people had signed the petition, several of whom are from out of state. The goal is to gather 500 signatures.

Hermosa Beach resident Stephanie Dreyer, who writes a blog called Veegmama, started the petition. Dreyer could not be immediately reached for comment. But an introduction to the petition states the recycling rate of plastic bags is low and that some plastics take 1,000 years to decompose.

The petition is directed to City Manager Tom Bakaly and says: "I support a local ordinance mandating the reduction or elimination of plastic bags by Hermosa Beach stores in an effort to reduce plastic pollution and promote environmentally friendly alternatives."

According to the environmental group California Against Waste, 74 cities or counties in the state are covered by plastic ban ordinances.

The California Senate is considering a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags that would supersede local ordinances, including those covering Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica and Long Beach.

The Senate measure would bar plastic bag use in grocery stores and pharmacies beginning in January 2015. Customers would be encouraged to use their own reusable bags or pay about 10 cents for a paper bag.

The proposal got a boost last week when the California Grocers Association, a 400-member organization representing the food industry, announced it would back the bill, according to the Los Angeles Times. Complying with dozens of different local ordinances is expensive and complicated, a spokesman for the group said.