Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mayor Piercy noted that the City had already taken positions in support of such a ban at the State legislature. Ms. Taylor asked if there were biodegradable grocery bags. Mr. Nelson said yes, but he did not think Eugene would want to encourage their use at this time because of the potential for additional contamination in the commercial composting program. He said that composters do not currently accept biodegradable bags. Mr. Poling looked forward to moving on to the next step in the process. He said grocers in his ward indicated that the shift was occurring on an industry wide basis. Mr. Brown opposed the use of plastic bags and supported the staff-proposed motion to move a plastic bag ban forward. He did object to the proposed cost pass-through, which forced vendors to charge customers for a service that they previously received for free. He did not think the City should try to tell vendors what they could and could not charge customers. Mr. Brown wondered if there was value to adding wholesalers to the list of vendors. Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Brown about the cost pass-through. She hoped stores would incentivize people to bring their own bags such as several local stores already did with a bag rebate. Mr. Pryor suggested the council proceed thoughtfully, pointing out that the production of paper bags required more energy, water, trees, and C02 than plastic bags did. He did not think the goal was to replace plastic bags with paper bags but rather to replace them both with reusable bags. He believed a ban would not solve the problem but would begin to move the community toward that goal in the same manner as returnable bottles had reduced the waste stream. While he wanted to keep the needs of the low-income in mind, he asked how they would be identified as low-income for the purposes of exempting them from a bag charge. Mr. Farr had no objection to retailers charging for bags, and suggested some retailers might try to gain a competitive advantage by offering free bags. He noted that Jerry’s Home Improvement Center had discontinued the use of plastic bags some years ago. Speaking to Ms. Taylor’s earlier question, Mr. Zelenka said he understood that biodegradable bags did not break down without high temperatures. He suggested the concerns expressed by Mr. Brown and MS. Ortiz about the cost pass-through could be addressed by changing the word “shall” to “may” in Section 6.860. Speaking to Mr. Pryor’s remarks, Mr. Zelenka said that paper bag manufacturers maintained that paper bags produced 59 percent less greenhouse gases than plastic bags. For the benefit of the audience, Mr. Zelenka reviewed the definition of a carryout bag. Mr. Brown endorsed Mr. Zelenka’s suggested change to Section 6.860. He believed local retailers had been anticipating the change for some time and did not envision much opposition. He agreed with Ms. Ortiz that vendors could incentivize the use of reusable bags in a positive way through a small rebate. He noted that his own downtown grocery store, The Kiva, sold bags for a nickel above cost and had given away hundreds of bags to customers during special promotions. He believed the proposal would give stores time to use up their supply of plastic bags. Stores could also use that time to educate their customers about the benefits of bringing their own bags. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 27, 2012 Page 5 Work Session