Small Town Mayor Boosts Plastic Bag Ban

Fairfax just enacted its ban or plastic bags in retail locations on May 4, 2009.
Larry Bragman, Mayor of the northern California town of Fairfax, discusses the need for and commercial benefit of banning plastic bags in this video.

Advocates of the ban, including fellow city council member Lew Tremaine (Green Party) and lifelong resident Andy Peri, first brought the resolution forward to the city council last June. However, two bag manufacturers threatened to sue the town because the council had not conducted an environmental review. The council decided to make the ban voluntary. By the fall, an anti-plastic bag measure was on the ballot and passed with 79 per cent of the vote, thus evading the need (and expense) of an "environmental review".

Related Links:

Sierra Club Podcast: San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and Sierra Club Bay Chapter Political Director John Rizzo talk about bringing solar power to San Francisco and the surprising wave of excitement over the plastic bag ban initiative.

Marin IJ: May 4, 2009 article describing history success of effort in Fairfax to ban plastic bags.

RTE News: Ocean clean-up yields 700,000 plastic bags