Here’s the Latest Draft of a Possible Santa Fe Bag Ban

The latest iteration of a plan to decrease disposable bag use in Santa Fe would ban both plastic and paper carry-out bags. However, businesses that opt into a city recycling program could continue to offer paper bags.

City staffers provided the update this week at a meeting of the city’s Business and Quality of Life Committee. They stressed that the proposal is still just a draft, and they’ll come back to the committee for more input before producing a final copy.

A previous draft ordinance – the subject of a public hearing at an October Business and Quality of Life meeting – would have prohibited carry-out plastic bags from Santa Fe stores. Paper bags would have been allowed, although customers would have been charged a 10 cents per bag fee. Retailers would also have been required to submit twice-yearly bag-use reports to the city – a feature that earned consternation from many in the business community and appears, at this point, to be gone for good.

City staff said this week that priorities in creating the ordinance include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and controlling litter. Stay tuned as this one moves along.