On June 25, the Encinitas City Council voted 3-2 to continue moving forward with their proposed Disposable Bag Reduction Ordinance. The Council directed staff to determine that this "project" will have no negative impact on the environment (claiming a Categorical Exemption) and therefore will be exempt from CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). Recent case law (Marin County and San Francisco) has set precedent for local jurisdictions to claim a Categorical Exemption with single-use bag reduction ordinances. A final vote for the ordinance is expected to come back to Council before Sept 1st. Please keep your eye on this, as we'll need your support at that time!
Additionally, the Encinitas City Council voted 5-0 to move forward in exploring an EPS (Styrofoam) ban. Staff will draft ordinance language for the ban, do community outreach on the issue and analyze economic implications of a ban. Currently, over 70 jurisditions in the state of CA have passed a similar ordinance. While the process has just begun, the City of Encinitas is on their way to becoming the first city in SD County to pass an EPS ban!
Thank you to the City of Encinitas for their leadership in helping to keep plastic pollution out of our marine environment!
