by Jack
Mar 5th, 2013, Chico City Council meeting: The debate on paper or plastic bags continues, however it looks like a ban on plastic grocery bags is very likely. The City Attorney has been tasked to draft an ordinance for council’s review and this could be the final step before a council vote.
The proposed ban will require grocery stores to keep records on their bag purchases, but the time limit for keeping record has not been determined. It could range between 3 months and 3 years. The records will allow a city employee to cite a non-compliance store. The cost of using paper bags will be passed to the consumer, if the ordinance is approved.
The consensus of council members (5 to 2) seemed to think reusable canvas bags would be ideal for consumers, even though a citizen addressing the council produced a San Francisco study that indicated the use dirty canvass bags created a potential for food born illnesses (such as sow manilla) and could have health consequences on grocery personnel. The speaker (Sue Hubbard) said the grocery clerks may have an issue with these reusable (dirty) bags. Councilman Randall Stone snidely asked the citizens, “They (store workers) don’t have a problem taking dirty money do they?”
Councilman Scott Gruendl said he thinks this is a great opportunity for some entrepreneur to invent a device that alerts the user when the reusable bag is becoming dirty and needs to be washed.
In fairness, we should note Councilman Stone’s snide comment was due in part because he’s very young and inexperienced and anything he has to say should be taken in that context. Stone, a far left liberal, was elected to council with the help of a highly organized and long standing group of activists and union supporters. He defeated several highly qualified conservative candidates with extensive public and private experience in the last election. And as for Councilman Gruendl’s idea, well, we wish him much luck on that one.
Really? This is the best we can do? Petty, control freak restrictions in how we bring our groceries home?
Thank God you also posted about the vagrant problem in downtown Chico…a problem that should actually challenge those who claim to be qualified to represent the good citizens.
The real debate should be, who on the city council should be wearing paper bags at meetings, and who should be wearing plastic?
By the way, Randall Stone has oodles of experience being a snide jerk. He has it down pat.
Council should be looking at fiscal responsibility instead of plastic bags.
So how about council members reimbursing the businesses for the extra costs all of these new requirements will incur? Out of their own pockets of course – not the taxpayers. . . . . .
So, Councilman Scott Gruendl “said he thinks this is a great opportunity for some entrepreneur to invent a device that alerts the user when the reusable bag is becoming dirty and needs to be washed”.
Well I would like to suggest this idea to Mr. Gruendl ‘HOW ABOUT USING A PLASTIC LINER’ To me this makes about as much if not more sense then any nanny bag ordinance inflicted on Chico citizenry.
Does anyone have the inside scoop on how “Chico Bag” came to be? I may be way off base but it seems that this business came along about the same time the debate about banning plastic started. Just wondering; it wouldn’t be the first time a citizen conspired with the council to help a business.
Apologies to Chico Bag if I am wrong.