Have we been creating too much noise about the plastic bag ban ordinance?
Since it went into effect a week and a half ago for smaller Culver City retailers, nary a sound has been heard.
No violations. Gripes?
If there have been beefs, consumers or retailers have internalized them.
Catherine Vargas, environmental officer and City Hall’s go-to person, is an enforcement party of one. “If we receive a complaint,” she said, “we will check it out.”
Ms. Vargas remains vigilant.
“I am keeping my eyes open,” she said. “I have touched all of the lives of all of the businesses that are in Culver City. We don’t have very many, though.”
She estimated the number at 70, which seems low “because the ordinance says there are very specific products they have to be selling to be affected by the ban.”
Language of the ordinance “is kind of gray,” Ms. Vargas says, “because some people selling food products are not selling the whole gamut of affected items. So they do not necessarily fall under the ordinance.”
While Ms. Vargas has not received any complaints, “I do receive calls from businesses wanting me to help walk them through the new rules. That has been going on for the past year. These calls have ramped up the last couple of months. Mostly they have come from liquor stores, and the answer is yes, they do come under the ordinance because they have to license.”
Ms. Vargas said Culver City entrepreneurs and consumers are fortunate. Both Los Angeles County and Los Angeles city previously enacted similar ordinances, creating a new habit that Culver City has capitalized on.
