01/18/2013
The Draft Ordinance The City’s draft reusable bag ordinance will be made available online on January 9th. To ensure consistency with San Mateo’s ordinance, Cupertino’s draft ordinance would require all Cupertino retail establishments to charge ten cents for carryout bags; either recycled paper or durable plastic bags designed as multiple-use shopping bags. . As outlined in the EIR, all carryout bag-related revenue would be retained by affected stores to compensate for any increased costs related to compliance with the proposed ordinance, including costs associated with providing recyclable paper carryout or durable multi-use shopping bags. The draft ordinance would not require retailers to label the carryout bags sold to their customers, nor would retailers be required to display any particular signage in their stores. Retailers would be required to keep a record of the purchase and sale of any carryout bag, for three years from the purchase or sale date. The records must be made available to a City Inspector at no cost to the City during regular business hours. The City will share informational materials prepared for its upcoming business and resident meetings (see schedule below), by December 17th. On the City’s web page,
City of Cupertino
Proposed Reusable Bag Ordinance
Background and Overview: December 11, 2012
www.cupertino.org/reusebags. Questions will be answered by City staff upon request. Email questions to [email protected] Cupertino’s draft ordinance will closely mirror that passed in San Mateo County on November 6, 2012, available on the City’s informational web page: www.Cupertino.org/ReuseBags Notable differences in Cupertino’s draft include:
o Cupertino’s draft ordinance would not require bag labeling.
o If adopted as currently proposed, Cupertino’s ordinance would not take effect until October 1st, 2013 to give retail stores time to prepare for the change and to allow shoppers time to collect reusable bags and begin the practice of using them at local stores.
