Glendale makes plastic bag ban official

By next year, all grocery, convenience and liquor stores in Glendale will have to get rid of their plastic bags and start charging 10 cents for paper ones after the City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the ban.

The vote was expected after all five council members last week voiced support for the ordinance at a public hearing.

Glendale now joins several California cities that have enacted similar bans, including Pasadena, Los Angeles and San Jose.

Glendale’s ordinance is modeled after a ban enacted in the unincorporated Los Angeles County areas in 2011, but will also include farmer’s markets and city-sponsored events.

Large grocery stores that make at least $2 million in gross annual sales, retailers with at least 10,000 square feet that include a pharmacy and farmer’s markets will have six months after the ordinance takes effect in February to comply.

Smaller grocers and liquor stores will have 12 months.

Shoppers at farmer’s markets may be able to get paper bags free, according to the ordinance.

-- Brittany Levine, Times Community News

Follow Brittany Levine on Google+ and on Twitter: @brittanylevine