‘BagMonster’ Promotes Plastic Bag Use at County Center

Even on a sweltering 90 degree afternoon, the Bag Monster emerged at the County Center in Redwood City to promote the use of plastic bags. In a full body suit composed of 500 bags, he said he was pleased that the average person uses 500 plastic bags over the course of a year.

“Who else is going to clog the storm drains and smother marine life?” he said. “I must protest because [the county] is trying to stop my livelihood!”

Temporarily dropping the “Bag Monster” identity, Dean Peterson, the San Mateo County Director of Environmental Health, explained that the Board of Supervisors is looking into a proposed plastic bag ban.

The public comment period has closed on the draft environmental impact report and county staff will present its final report to the Planning Commission. If the report is approved, the Board of Supervisors will vote whether to approve it or not.

San Mateo County is trying to join the cities of San Jose and San Francisco in their similar plastic bag ordinances.

San Francisco passed the first law banning single use plastic bags in 2007 and 44 other California cities and over 24 others around the country have followed suit, according to the newspaper U-T San Diego.

What do you think of the proposed ban on plastic bags in San Mateo County? Let us know in the comments section.