Retailers face fines up to $5,000 a day under new Napa County plastic bag ban

"Retailers will have until the ban takes effect to use up their remaining plastic checkout bags. After that, stores can offer paper bags made with at least 50% recycled content, charing 10 cents per bag with the fee itemized on receipts. RELATED: Why plastic bags will be gone from California grocery stores by the end of the year Businesses that violate the ordinance could face administrative fines starting at $1,000 per day and increasing to a maximum of $5,000 per day for repeated violations."

"That law, also effective Jan. 1, prohibits polystyrene containers and requires businesses to keep records of recyclable and compostable foodware for at least three years. Calistoga is currently the only city in Napa County with a comparable ordinance, which took effect in March 2024. Other jurisdictions are expected to consider similar requirements soon, county planner Ryan Melendez said. Many of the revisions to the county ordinance were intended to make the language clearer."

Napa County will ban retailers from providing plastic carryout bags in unincorporated areas starting next year, closing a loophole that allowed thicker plastic bags marketed as reusable. The rule aligns county policy with a forthcoming state law and allows retailers to use remaining plastic checkout bags until the ban takes effect. Stores may offer paper bags made with at least 50% recycled content and must charge 10 cents per bag with the fee itemized on receipts. Businesses that violate the ordinance face administrative fines starting at $1,000 per day, rising to $5,000 per day for repeated violations. A separate ordinance effective Jan. 1 requires food providers to use reusable or compostable foodware, prohibits polystyrene containers, mandates three years of records on recyclable and compostable foodware, adds obligations such as annual staff education and three-stream waste separation, and will be enforced partly through complaint-based code enforcement and routine Environmental Health inspections.

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