California City of Santa Cruz Nears Bag BanCalifornia City of Santa Cruz Nears Bag Ban

Santa Cruz is the latest California city or county poised to ban plastic carryout bags.

The Santa Cruz city council passed a ban on first reading, says Scott Collins, assistant to the city manager, in an interview. He calls it “a formality” that the law will get passed on a final reading July 24.

The new law would ban all plastic carryout bags except for restaurants and loose items such as meat and produce, Collins says. There would be a 10-cent charge for any single paper carryout bag.

Businesses will have up to nine months after the law is passed to prepare for enforcement.

Santa Cruz has a population of about 59,000. Its county, Santa Cruz, already implemented a bag ban for unincorporated parts, and the city of Watsonville in the county also has implemented a law, Collins says.

The city of Santa Cruz has a recycling rate of 5 percent for plastic bags and 65 percent for paper bags.