Save The Plastic Bag

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February 2, 2012: We file a lawsuit against San Luis Obispo (SLO). On January 11, 2012, the SLO Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a 10-cent fee on paper bags. IWMA totally failed to comply with CEQA.

November 29, 2011: We file a Notice of Appeal of the Marin County Superior Court decision that Marin County was not required to follow CEQA when banning plastic bags. This remarkable decision flies in the face of the California Supreme Court's decision in the Manhattan Beach case. We will file an appeal which we fully expect to win. Click here for our press release about the Marin decision.

November 18, 2011: We file final legal objections to the proposed expansion of the San Francisco plastic bag ban. The proposed ordinance would ban plastic carryout bags at all retail stores and all food establishments including restaurants.

November 14, 2011: We file initial legal objections to the proposed expansion of the San Francisco plastic bag ban. The proposed ordinance would ban plastic carryout bags at all retail stores and all food establishments including restaurants.

October 18, 2011: We file a lawsuit against Santa Cruz County. On September 20, 2011, the county adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a 25-cent fee on paper bags. This is not a CEQA lawsuit. Much of the lawsuit is focussed on the ban of plastic bags at restraurants and food vendors.

October 11, 2011: The Long Beach City Council adopts a resolution canceling its previous position and adopting out position regarding greenhouse gases. The city backed down and settled with us after we filed a lawsuit. The resolution approves the settlement.

September 15, 2011: The Marin County Superior Court rules that Marin County was not required to follow CEQA when banning plastic bags. This remarkable decision flies in the face of the California Supreme Court's decision in the Manhattan Beach case. We will file an appeal which we fully expect to win. Click here for our press release about the Marin decision.

July 14, 2011: The California Supreme Court issues its decision in the Manhattan Beach case. We are delighted with the result. Click here for our press release.

June 9, 2011: We file a CEQA lawsuit against the City of Long Beach for applying the wrong environmental standard for determining the significance of greenhouse gas emissions from the production and disposal of paper bags. The city is attempting to "move the goalposts" to avoid having to acknowledge the severe environmental impact of paper bags.

February 24, 2011: We file a CEQA lawsuit against Marin County. On January 25, 2010, the county adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a mere 5-cent fee on paper bags. The county ignored CEQA completely. It did not even prepare an Initial Study under CEQA. The lawsuit is based on objections that we filed with the county.

January 4, 2011: As a result of our objections, Marin County decides to delay adoption of its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance. Click here and here for articles about the delay.

December 28, 2010: We file formal legal objections with Marin County regarding its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance. Marin County is proposing to avoid any kind of CEQA compliance and is not even preparing an Initial Study.

March 3, 2010: We settle our case against Los Angeles County as the County is preparing an EIR and the litigation is no longer necessary.

February 22, 2010: The California Supreme Court accepts the Manhattan Beach case for review. The court is expected to decide the case in late 2010 or early 2011.

January 27, 2010: The Court of Appeal decides the Manhattan Beach appeal in our favor, affirming the February 20, 2009 decision of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Click here for a copy of the Court of Appeal's decision. The City of Manhattan Beach subsequently files a Petition for Review asking the California Supreme Court to rule on the case.

September 18, 2009: We file formal legal objections with the City of San Jose regarding its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance.

September 17, 2009: We file formal legal objections with the City of Encinitas regarding its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance.

July 28, 2009: We settle our case against Palo Alto. The city had adopted an ordinance in March 2009 banning plastic bags at four stores. In the settlement agreement, the city agrees not to ban plastic bags at any more stores without first preparing an Environmental Impact Report. Click here for a copy of the media release announcing the settlement.

April 21, 2009: We file a lawsuit against the City of Palo Alto for adopting an ordinance banning plastic bags without preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We hope that the court will force the city to conduct an objective EIR with the goal of finding and presenting to the public the truth about the environmental impacts of plastic, paper and reusable bags.

March 16, 2009: We file further formal legal objections with the City of Palo Alto, California, regarding its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance.

February 20, 2009: We win our case against Manhattan Beach in the California Superior Court (but the City of Manhattan Beach subsequently files an appeal). The judge rules that the City of Manhattan Beach should have prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act before banning plastic bags. An EIR would have resolved whether plastic or paper is better for the environment. SaveThePlasticBag.com believes that an EIR would have shown that plastic bags are far better for the environment than paper bags.

February 13, 2009: We file further formal legal objections with the City of Palo Alto, California, regarding its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance.

January 29, 2009: We file formal objections with the City of San Jose, California regarding a proposed plastic bag ordinance.

January 26, 2009: We file formal objections with the City of Morgan Hill, California regarding a proposed plastic bag ordinance.

January 26, 2009: We file formal objections with the City of Mountain View, California regarding a proposed plastic bag ordinance.

January 12, 2009: We file formal objections with the City of Santa Monica regarding its proposed plastic bag ordinance.

December 18, 2008: The Los Angeles Superior Court grants our motion for preliminary injunction against Manhattan Beach.

November 28, 2008: We file formal legal objections with the City of San Diego regarding its proposed plastic bag ordinance.

November 19, 2008: We file formal legal objections with Santa Clara County, California, regarding its proposed plastic bag ordinance.

November 17, 2008: We file a motion for preliminary injunction in Los Angeles Superior Court to stay the effective date of the Manhattan Beach plastic ban ordinance.

September 17, 2008: We file formal legal objections with the City of Palo Alto, California, regarding its proposed plastic bag ban ordinance.

August 12, 2008: We file a lawsuit against the City of Manhattan Beach for adopting an ordinance banning plastic bags. The city based its action on a one-sided staff report that cherry-picked facts with the goal of justifying a ban. The city did not prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We hope that the court will force the city to conduct an objective EIR with the goal of finding the truth.

July 17, 2008: We file a lawsuit against Los Angeles County for adopting a phased ban of plastic bags. The county based its action on a one-sided staff report that cherry-picked facts with the goal of justifying a ban. The county did not prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We hope that the court will force the county to conduct an objective EIR with the goal of finding the truth.

July 1, 2008: The Manhattan Beach City Council holds a hearing to vote on the proposed ordinance to ban plastic bags. On the day of the hearing, we file further supplemental legal objections. We testify at the City Council hearing. The City Council votes and adopts the ordinance to ban plastic bags based on misinformation.

June 18, 2008: We file formal legal objections with the City of Manhattan Beach.

June 10, 2008: We send a second letter to the City of Manhattan Beach complaining about the conduct of the June 3, 2008 City Council hearing.

June 3, 2008: The City of Manhattan Beach, California, holds a hearing on a proposed ordinance to ban plastic carryout bags. Prior the hearing, we sent a letter to the city threatening litigation as the council was planning to vote based on a staff report that was full of misinformation. The City Council decided to defer the vote due to the threat of litigation.

April 17, 2008: The Alameda Superior Court in California invalidates Oakland's ordinance banning plastic bags. Note that the tentative decision was adopted as final by the court. As a result of the decision, the Oakland ordinance was subsequently revoked.