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Frequently Asked Questions

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What does the Carryout Bag Ordinance require?

  • Beginning Earth Day, April 22, 2017 all business establishments are required to charge a minimum fee of five (5) cents for each carryout bag made of plastic, paper, or reusable material (thicker plastic or cloth)  – customers who bring their own bags will not be charged;
  • All fees collected are retained by the business establishment – the City does not retain any portion of the fee, as that would require state legislation;
  • All business establishments shall post signage at or near points of sale to notify customers. Downloadable signs, in both English and Spanish, are available here;
  • No business establishment shall charge this fee for any of the defined exemptions.

 What are the exemptions defined under the ordinance?

  • Customers using a bag of any kind that they have brought with them into the business establishment shall not be prevented or charged;
  • Customers using NYS Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or NYS Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), as full or partial payment shall not be charged;
  • Bags without handles that are used to carry the following items to the point of sale within a store or market, or to prevent such items from coming in direct contact with other purchased items: produce, meats, loose baked goods, loose dry goods, dry cleaning, newspaper delivery bags, liquor store sales, flowers or other non-prepackaged food items. This means that if an item is not explicitly stated above, or is a food item that is packaged or wrapped, the bag it is placed in requires a five cent fee.  Conversely, if the item is explicitly stated above or if the bag is the primary packaging for a food item or used to keep food products from coming in contact with other items, it does not require the fee;
  • Bags provided by a doctor, pharmacist, or veterinarian to carry prescription drugs.
What can customers do to prepare?
  • Bring your own bags to the store; make a note on your shopping list or leave them in the car;
  • Sign up for reusable bag giveaway information here; residents can now pick up a reusable bag at the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall during business hours, while supplies last. Proof of residency is required;
  • Use alternatives for pet waste and trash liners, such as scoopers and newspaper, cereal, or snack bags.
What can businesses do to prepare?
  • Businesses may ask their customers if they would like a carryout bag, and inform their customers of the charge before they offer a bag;
  • Businesses may train staff to inform their customers that any carryout bag provided to them will incur a minimum five (5) cent charge, with certain exemptions named above; 
  • Businesses may determine alternatives for food delivery, including insulated delivery bags or cardboard boxes, which are more easily recycled;
  • There are no specific bag guidelines, such as recycled or composted content, to limit burden on businesses;
  • There is no record-keeping requirement for businesses - stores must simply demonstrate to customers that they are charging a minimum of five (5) cents per bag.
What would the penalties for non-compliance be?
The penalties for non-compliance would be as follows: a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation; two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation; two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00) for a third violation and subsequent violations. In the event of a continuing violation, each day such offense continues shall constitute a separate additional violation.

How will this ordinance be enforced?
As most other City ordinances are – on a complaint basis to the City. The City has and will continue to work with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to ensure they are aware of and comply with the ordinance.

How does this ordinance compare to other cities’ bag laws?
Hundreds of cities nationwide have already adopted laws to dramatically reduce carryout bag usage. Unlike many California municipalities and some local communities, such as Patchogue and Southampton, this ordinance does not ban plastic bags or prevent businesses from offering bags they currently use. The ordinance instead requires a minimum five (5) cent charge for all carryout bags, so that customers do not substitute one type of bag for another, thereby reducing the use of all single-use paper and plastic bags. Unlike Washington D.C., the charge is not a tax — business establishments would retain the revenue. This is similar to legislation that has been enacted in Suffolk County.

How does this ordinance affect low-income households?
Businesses already pay for bags but typically do not make the cost evident to customers with an individual, per-bag charge. To ensure low-income families are minimally affect, transactions using SNAP and WIC food vouchers are exempt from the requirement to charge for bags to avoid economic barriers to food security. All households, including those of modest means, may avoid the charge at checkout by using reusable bags at checkout. The City has worked with community organizations to initiate reusable bag giveaways, which includes outreach and reusable bag giveaways targeted to low-income households.

How does this affect small businesses’ bottom line?
Bags cost businesses money. This ordinance essentially makes the bag just as much a part of the point-of-sale transaction as the products put inside of it. Currently, retail and grocery stores already pay for bags but typically do not make the cost evident to customers with an individual, per-bag charge. Business establishments required to charge a minimum of five (5) cents per bag keep the charge in order to cover the cost of carryout bags. A business may choose to charge more than the five (5) cent limit to further incentive their customers to bring their own reusable bag.
 
How does this affect customers’ decision to shop?
There is little evidence that the total amount of goods purchased by households in covered cities declines as a result of bag charges. Customers in other cities have switched to reusable bags at a high rate once bag charge laws were implemented, which is the best way to avoid the fee when visiting our local businesses – it will surely cost a customer more in time and gas to go over the bridge than any reasonable amount of single-use bags needed to go shopping in our City (which, of course, is avoided when a customer brings their own bag). 
 
Why does the ordinance also have stores charge for paper bags in additional to reusable bags?
Paper bags are also be subject to a five (5) cent charge because they too have a significant environmental cost, and the charge helps account for that cost by acting as a disincentive. All carryout bags incur a charge so that consumers do not substitute one type of bag for another. As with paper and plastic bags, it is important to remember that reusable bags also require resources to produce and should only be purchased if they are actually needed. As such, the charge applies to reusable bags as well.
 
I use plastic bags for my trash bags/pet waste/you name it. How will this affect me?
A study from Los Angeles County estimated that only a quarter of plastic bags are used as substitutes for trash bags. Households that wish to continue using shopping bags as trash bags can purchase plastic bags for a minimum of five (5) cents, but it will be more efficient to use dedicated trash bags that hold much more than a single shopping bag -- the extra expense is estimated to be less than $1.50/year per household to purchase replacement trash bags. The need for trash bags can also be reduced by recycling, composting, and using alternatives to pick up pet waste including scoopers and newspaper, snack and/or cereal bags.
 
What if I forget my reusable bags at home and need to buy something?
Since shoppers will not always remember to or be able to bring their own bags in all cases, stores affected by this ordinance can make bags (including reusable bags) available for purchase for a minimum charge of five (5) cents per bag.
 
If the ordinance allows plastic bags to continue to be used, how will it encourage an overall reduction in plastic bags?
This ordinance’s purpose is to improve transparency in the buying process and create a consumer-driven decision that encourages them to bring their own bag. Stores would now charge an explicit fee of at least five (5) cents for all bags, so the number of bags people use will naturally drop. With this law in place, bags will no longer be considered a free part of transactions – they will be part of the transaction. Customers will be better prompted to decide whether or not they really need a bag for their particular purchase now that there is an explicit cost associated with them. While businesses are required to explicitly charge for bags, there is no requirement that they offer certain types of bags -- or any at all.
 
Why not put a cap on the amount a business can charge for bags?
If a business would like to do more to discourage single-use carryout bag use and encourage reusable bag use, they are free to do so.

Why doesn’t the City require businesses to sell reusable bags?
This ordinance was designed to be least burdensome as possible to the business owner – if they’d do not want to provide reusable bags, they are free not to. We encourage them to do so, but understand if they cannot cover the cost. It is also important to remember that reusable bags require resources to produce, as with plastic and paper bags, and should only be purchased if they are actually needed.
 
How will the City continue to make sure the public is aware of this ordinance?
Beginning in 2015 and continuing throughout 2016, the City in collaboration with several local organizations and businesses, organized “Bag It” documentary viewings at City Hall, the MLK Center, Bridgeworks, and on the beach, to educate the public about plastic bag pollution and single-use bag waste. During that process, the City Council received a letter from the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Executive Board and several thousand petition signatures endorsing legislation that would address carryout bag usage and waste.
 
Outreach actions have included and will continue to include:
  • Disseminating information one-pagers, FAQs, and other material on the ordinance to the public through traditional media, social media, City websites, mail, canvassing, and the Long Beach Response smartphone app;
  • Making low-moderate income communities a priority by engaging residents in lower income areas with information, door to door canvassing, and reusable bag giveaways at community centers;
  • Visiting other community centers, such as schools and civic organizations;
  • Continue working with local organizations to disseminate information and organize joint events and initiatives.