ATTENTION SANTA MONICA SHOPPERS! 

Single-Use Carryout Bag Ban Goes Into Effect September 1

Santa Monica, CA - Santa Monica's Single-Use Carryout Bag Ban is being enforced this week in all 1,900 retail establishments citywide.  All retailers are prohibited from providing light-weight, single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale.  Grocery, drug and liquor stores, where the majority of single-use bags originate, will begin charging a minimum of 10¢ for each recycled content paper bag provided to customers that don't bring their own bags. The money generated stays with the stores, and is intended to create an incentive for shoppers to carry reusable bags.

The long-term success of the ban hinges on the successful integration of reusable bags into the community, a trend that is well underway. The City of Santa Monica began distributing thousands of reusable bags in the months leading up to the ban in order to meet the demand the ban was anticipated to generate. 

To make a bold statement about sustainability, community and the importance of the durability of reusable bags, the city partnered with Green Vets LA to produce high-quality, durable bags that are made in Los Angeles by veterans from garment industry remnant materials.  

 Additionally, the city launched the Share A Bag Program in mid-July.  The program serves as both a distribution point for new bags and an exchange for donations of clean, lightly used bags. The long-term success of the Share A Bag program rests upon community donations of unwanted bags.  If the experimental approach works the program could grow from its existing twenty locations and become a model for other communities. 

 Additional notes about the ordinance:

• The ban does not apply to produce bags, product bags, packaging or bags for take-out food.
• For customers participating either in the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children or the Supplemental Food Program, stores are required to provide a free reusable bag or paper bag.

Visit sustainablesm.org/bag for details on the ban, the Bag Ban at a Glance flyer (pdf), retailer support, shopping tips and more.

When shopping in Santa Monica remember to Bring Your Bag!