South SF Joins County Working Group on Plastic Bags

South San Francisco has joined a San Mateo County working group to draft a uniform plastic bag ban. 

City leaders will meet with representatives from the county as well as Millbrae, San Mateo, Foster City and San Carlos on Jan. 18 to move toward drafting a model ordinance banning plastic bags that cities could implement in order to have a uniform ban county-wide, the Mercury News reported.

If the ban goes forward, it would strengthen South San Francisco's current plastic bag policy, which consists of , adopted in April.

That means large stores that cooperate are not supposed to distributing plastic bags for free and charge customers who do use them five or 10 cents, but compliance is voluntary.

Over a year ago, South San Francisco decided to abandon enacting a mandatory ban on plastic bags partially out of concern that the plastics industry might sue and force the city to do an environmental impact report, . But council members have indicated that .

"I would also not want to put our retailers at a competitive disadvantage with an adjoining jurisdiction that did not have a ban. So I think a countywide effort has great merit," Councilmember Kevin Mullin told the Mercury News in October.