From the month of June, 2013, almost all the cities in the San Mateo County will start using reusable bags in most of their retail stores. The reusable bag ordinance will be followed by all the small retail shops across the county, and only restaurants and some medical stores will be prohibited from this list.

Store Owners Happy with the Reusable Bag Ordinance in San Mateo

According to Elisia Guzman, a Store Manager, both the customers and the store owners will benefit from this ban. She thinks that with reusable bags, the residents can manage their waste in a simple way, and help reduce the amount of plastic waste drastically. Once the ordinance is in place, the retail owners will have to go through a long procedure to supply customized shopping bags to their customers, and a simpler option for them will be to make the customers bring in their reusable bags at the store. In addition to this, Guzman thinks that reusable bags would better the waste disposal issue within the county, and so she feels that this ordinance should come into effect as soon as possible.

Another store owner, Chris Delios, thinks that this ordinance will help the retail owners to a large extent. He thinks the fact that the retail owners need to purchase regular paper bags for an additional 10 cents from the stores will add to the revenue of the stores. However, he thinks that the retailers will have to spend some time in making customized 40 percent recycled paper bags for their stores.

The Manager at the Neelan Pacific Market in San Bruno, Melvin Prasad, thinks that this ordinance will help in educating the residents as well. He thinks that, presently, people are aware of recycling initiatives, but they don't make an attempt to participate in these initiatives. Once the reusable bag ordinance is in place, the residents might become more conscious about their environmental footprint as well.

Use of Canvas Shopping Bags Encouraged Through the Ban in San Mateo

Once the ordinance is implemented, all the retailers will be free from the responsibility to get rid of their plastic waste. According to waste disposal workers, this ban will reduce the number of plastic bags in the trash cans, and so they won't have to waste time transferring plastic waste to the landfills. Furthermore, many experts feel that the usage of canvas shopping bags in retail stores will help in reducing the recycling expenses of the county as well.

Source:http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=1765106&title=San%20Mateo%20County%20merchants%20welcome%20plastic%20bag%20ban