Following Port Angeles City Council’s decision to ban carry-out plastic bags last month, Sequim City Councilors may opt to do the same sometime this year.
At Sequim’s City Council meeting on May 14, City Councilor Jennifer States, Sequim’s representative for the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, asked city councilors about supporting a letter to Clallam County Commissioners to enact an ordinance mirroring Port Angeles’ ban on certain plastic bags in unincorporated Clallam County.
City Manager Charlie Bush said they “want clear direction from council on how to proceed.”
“We’re encouraging the county to set policy (but) not within city limits,” he said.
The Peninsula Daily News reported the Port Angeles City Council voted 4-3 on April 3 to ban thin plastic carry-out bags prohibiting single-use plastic bags at stores within the city that are less than 2.25 thousandths of an inch. Any plastic bag from a retailer will cost a 5-cent minimum charge, too, starting July 3. The PDN also reports customers on food assistance programs are exempt from the bag fee and businesses can apply for an exemption.
The ordinance appealed to Sequim City Councilors and they gave States an unofficial but a unanimous OK to vote in favor of recommending a bag ban ordinance to County Commissioners. She and other Solid Waste Advisory Committee members with various agencies voted unanimously on May 17 on the recommendation.
Just when Clallam County Commissioners will discuss a possible carry-out plastic bag ban has not been set yet, county staff said.
States said the ordinance encourages conservation and reduction while helping prevent micro-plastics from going into water supplies and clogging recycling machinery.
“The ordinance reduces the number of bags in the recycling stream,” she said.
States said unlike other cities with bans, the 5-cent minimum fee for a bag helps retailers recoup costs they wouldn’t have received before.
Sequim City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross said the City of Sequim is an independent entity and would be exempt from anything the County Commissioners decide on plastic bags.
However, Sequim City Councilors may choose to follow Port Angeles’ ordinance.
“It makes sense to me we should consider it too,” said Councilor Bob Lake.
“I think if the county adopts it, the city should seriously adopt it as well,” Councilor Ted Miller said.
Bush said city staff would plan a work session depending on how Clallam County Commissioners’ discussions go.
“It probably won’t be for a few months,” he said.
States recommended a member of the Plastic Bag Reduction Coalition or County Commissioner Mark Ozias, chairman of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, speak to Sequim City Councilors about a possible ban.
Contact the City of Sequim at 360-683-4139 or visit www.sequimwa.gov.
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
