Across the country, cities and counties have started to initiative plastic bag bans or fees to encourage reduction of waste associated with single-use plastic bags. However, having more regionally-oriented regulations helps local residents and businesses to understand and follow new ordinances, rather than having separate rules for every community.

The Integrated Waste Management Authority has worked for 5 years to develop a single- use plastic bag ban that could be coordinated across the county. However, recent reports indicate that members of the Atascadero City Council are resistant to the effort. The county board will vote on the issue sometime in November— let these council members know that its time to have region-wide, effective application of bans on single-use plastic bags.