By Lookout Staff

July 22, 2011 --Need to get a cloth tote bag for when you go shopping, or do you already have more than you can use? Either way, the City’s new “Share a Bag” program is for you.

City officials launched the bag exchange program this week to help prepare shoppers for September when Santa Monica’s ban on light-weight plastic shopping bags goes into effect.

The idea is simple. If you have extra reusable bags, drop them off at any of 17 locations throughout the city. If you need a bag, pick one up at any of the same locations:
Farmers Markets

• Wednesday Farmers Market, Arizona & 2nd Street
• Saturday Farmers Market, Arizona & 3rd Street
• Sunday Farmers Market, 2640 Main Street
• Saturday Farmers Market, Virginia Ave. Park, Pico & Cloverfield
Resale Merchants
• Alex Boutique, 3012 Santa Monica Boulevard.
• Arcana Books of the Arts, 1229 Third Street Promenade
• Assistance League of Santa Monica Thrift Shop, 1453 15th Street
• Baby Daze Boutique, 1706 Ocean Park Blvd.
• Cherry Picked Boutique, 2807 Pico Blvd.
• Courtney's Antiques & Vintage Furnishings, 1537 Lincoln Blvd.
• Crossroads Trading Co, 1449 4th Street
• Great Labels, 1126 Wilshire Boulevard.
• St. Joseph's Thrift, 1828 Lincoln Boulevard.
• St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Thrift shop, 2812 Main Street
City Offices
• Downtown Santa Monica Ambassador's Desk, Parking Structure 4, 1321 2nd Street
• Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, 1234 6th Street #100
• City Hall Help Desk, 1685 Main Street

Known for its progressive politics, Santa Monica joins a half dozen other environmentally-conscious California cities that have banned plastic bags.

The flimsy, light-weight shopping bags are difficult to recycle and control where they go. They get blown about by the wind and litter our streets and beaches. Eventually they wind up in the ocean and cause damage to marine life, environmental officials say.

The ban only applies plastic bags that are less than 2.25 millimeters thick, such as those typically given out by grocers and pharmacies, which are intended for one-time use. Shoppers in California use 19 billion of these bags each year, environmental officials say.

Markets will be allowed to offer paper bags to shoppers for a minimum fee of 10 cents per bag – money which will be kept by the stores to offset expenses.

But the real purpose of the fee is to create a disincentive for using disposable bags at all. Instead, shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags to the store

The City’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE) has been spreading the word about the new rules and has handed out thousands of reusable cloth totes since early this year.

The OSE bag give-away program will continue during the last week of August with free totes available at all of the City’s public libraries.
In a model of sustainability, the OSE bags are made from scrap cloth from L.A.’s garment district and are sewn locally by vets at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration.It took several years and some legal wrangling to get the new ordinance on the books.

The City Council first considered the ordinance in January 2009 but held off on deliberations out of fear of a lawsuit from the plastic bag industry.

Council finally passed the ordinance in January 2011 after a State of California environmental review of the proposal had been completed. Enforcement of the ban will begin September 1.

Not included in the ban are light weight “product bags,” such as those found in grocers' produce sections. Heavier plastic bags commonly used by retail shops are also not included.

Also exempt from the ban are carry-out food businesses, since hot liquid seeping through a paper bag could cause injuries.

Other municipalities which have adopted or are considering ordinances to ban plastic bags include San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, Long Beach, Palo Alto and the County of Los Angeles.