WHEREAS, the production of plastic bags requires petroleum and increases our dependency on foreign oil, requires toxic chemical additives that pollute during the manufacturing process, and uses energy in manufacturing and transport that creates more gree

Resolution on San Jose's Single-Use Bag Ordinance

WHEREAS, the production of plastic bags requires petroleum and increases our dependency on foreign oil, includes toxic chemical additives that pollute during the manufacturing process, and uses energy in manufacturing and transport that creates more greenhouse gas emissions;

and WHEREAS, single use, disposable plastic bags are a major source of pollution, threatening wildlife, choking wetlands, creating eyesores in our community, and costing the public millions of dollars in cleanup and maintenance expenses; and only 1% of all plastic bags nationally and 4% of plastic bags in San Jose are recycled despite major efforts at developing strong community recycling programs over the past two decades;

and WHEREAS, the use of paper bags made from non-recycled materials leaves a very large carbon footprint and utilizes more energy than the manufacture of a plastic bag;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Santa Clara County Democratic Party thanks the San Jose City Council for its leadership in moving towards a strong ordinance that ends the distribution of free single-use plastic and paper bags, encouraging large-scale adoption of reusable bags by consumers;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Santa Clara County Democratic Party recognizes Palo Alto's early leadership on this issue and urges other municipalities in Santa Clara County to follow San Jose's lead and adopt strong single-use bag ordinances in order to help reduce our environmental impact and provide uniformity in regulation.

Adopted by SCCDCC, October 1, 2009