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Environmental Sustainability Board presents plastic-bag study, describes options from fee to ban
Summary
The county’s Environmental Sustainability Board reported research into single-use plastic bags at the Oct. 21 work session, presenting environmental impacts, recycling constraints and policy options. ESB found Los Alamos uses about 3.25 million single-use grocery bags per year locally, estimated a 17% contamination rate in recent recycling audits,
Shannon Blair, chair of the Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB), told the County Council on Oct. 21 that the ESB re-evaluated single-use plastic bags and considered environmental impacts, recycling feasibility, likely exemptions and costs to retailers, the county and consumers.
The ESB briefed council on three discrete areas: environmental effects of single-use plastic bags, the practical ability to recycle them and policy options used elsewhere. Blair said grocery-store bags in New Mexico are high-density polyethylene (HDPE), they typically fragment into microplastics rather than biodegrade, and national research estimates the average single-use bag is used about 14 minutes before disposal.
ESB staff reported an estimated 3.25 million single-use plastic grocery bags are used annually in Los Alamos County. The board reviewed municipal approaches in New Mexico and elsewhere, noting Santa Fe City and Las Cruces have local ordinances that ban or restrict single-use plastic bags and assess fees for paper bags. The board summarized two lessons from other towns: make the ordinance legally enforceable and define allowable uses of revenue from bag fees.
On recycling costs, ESB presented the county’s most recent contamination audit (17 percent contamination), and a recycling-contamination charge of $46 per ton, which the board said translates to roughly $12,000 per year in contamination fees for the county’s recycling program; the ESB cautioned that contamination is not solely plastic bags but that bags are a major national source of contamination at material-recovery facilities.
Blair presented policy options. A 10¢ per-bag fee, with 1¢ retained by retailers and 9¢ directed to the county under the ESB’s hypothetical split, would yield an estimated $325,000 annually if current bag use continued; Blair noted many municipalities exempt restaurants, thrift shops and SNAP/EBT transactions. The ESB also described full bans, hybrid bans-plus-fees, and reuse programs used in other jurisdictions. The board noted unintended consequences documented in other studies, including an increase in purchases of trash bags in some places after a ban.
Councilors asked how local policy might interact with state action. ESB members described the 2025 legislative effort (House Bill 392, the single-use plastic bag act) that proposed a statewide ban and 10¢ paper-bag fee; the bill did not become state law but boards and cities say broader municipal adoption can prompt statewide action.
Public commenters urged different outcomes. Jody Benson, representing the Sierra Club, said the Sierra Club supports either a high-fee approach or a ban to drive rapid behavior change. James Wernicke said he opposes an outright ban but supports a per-bag fee as a behavioral incentive.
ESB told the council it did not want to conduct broad community outreach without council guidance; board members asked the council to clarify whether ESB should conduct resident and business surveys and, if so, what questions and outreach approach the board should use.
Speakers included Shannon Blair (chair, Environmental Sustainability Board), Angelica Gourlay (county sustainability manager), Sue Barnes (ESB vice chair), Jody Benson (Sierra Club public commenter) and James Wernicke (public commenter).
Ending: The ESB asked council for direction on the scope and method of further community and business engagement before the board proceeds with a formal public outreach effort or draft ordinance language.
Provenance: The ESB presentation and questions span the ESB item in the council agenda. Councilors asked clarifying questions about enforcement, revenue use and exemptions, and two members of the public offered short comments at the meeting.
Notes: ESB provided comparative information on Santa Fe City and Las Cruces ordinances, and shared an estimate that New Mexicans use roughly 330 million single-use plastic bags annually. ESB requested guidance on whether to survey residents and businesses before preparing draft ordinance language for council consideration.
