ASUCLA awaits formal measures of Los Angeles’ plastic bag ban
By Jenna Belhumeur
June 1, 2012 12:59 a.m.
Associated Students UCLA may soon move away from offering plastic bags at its stores, after the Los Angeles City Council voted to ban the use of plastic bags at local businesses last week.
The city council voted May 23 to phase out the distribution of single-use plastic bags at businesses over the coming months. The ban will go in effect in September.
One year after the ban is enacted, shoppers will have the option to purchase paper bags for 10 cents each.
The city is currently in the process of creating a formal ordinance to outline which businesses will be required to comply with the new regulations, and how the changes will be put into effect.
The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation will also need to review the environmental impacts of the ban before a formal ordinance banning plastic can be drafted, said Reina Pereira, a senior environmental engineer for the bureau. The goal is to complete the review within four months, Pereira said.
Upon adoption of the ordinance, large retailers will have six months to phase out plastic bags. Smaller retailers will have a year, Pereira said.
Stores that are not required to follow the new ordinance will be able to choose whether or not to comply with the new rules, Pereira said.
The impact of the ban on stores in Ackerman Union and Westwood Village will be determined depending on how the ordinance defines a “store.”
Even if the citywide bag ban does not apply to stores at UCLA, ASUCLA is considering adopting the ban, said Karen Noh, the ASUCLA special projects director.
“We don’t want to be out of step with what the community wants,” Noh said. “If the community has accepted this ordinance, then we are going to be in step with them.”
Prior to the vote, student groups at UCLA were part of the effort to ban plastic bags with Los Angeles.
UCLA’s chapter of the California Public Interest Research Group, or CALPIRG, collected more than 3,500 signatures in support for the ban over the past year.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council unanimously signed a resolution supporting CALPIRG’s campaign to ban plastic bags in March.
While the effects on ASUCLA are still being figured out in light of last week’s vote, third-year psychobiology student Tiffany Pham said she foresees having to make small changes when shopping for groceries in Westwood because of the ban.
“Even though paper bags are still going to be available for purchase, who knows how long that will last?” Pham said. “It’s simply a matter of making a conscious effort to remember to bring reusable bags with you every time you go grocery shopping.”
