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15038 1 RESOLUTION NO. 15,038 2 3 A RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE INTENTION OF THE LITTLE 4 ROCK CITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT 5 ON THE CITY OF ITEMS SUCH AS SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS AND 6 OTHER DIFFICULT TO RECYCLE ITEMS OR COMPOST SUCH AS 7 PLATES, BOWLS, CUPS AND UTENSILS; TO ASK THE 8 SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION TO STUDY THE APPROPRIATENESS 9 OF REGULATIONS TO ELIMINATE SUCH SINGLE-USE ITEMS 10 WITHIN THE CITY; TO ASK THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION TO 11 RECOMMEND POTENTIAL COST-EFFECTIVE REPLACEMENT 12 PACKAGING THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE SUCH ITEMS; TO SET 13 DECEMBER 19, 2019, AS A DATE FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY 14 COMMISSION TO REPORT ITS FINDINGS TO THE BOARD OF 15 DIRECTORS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 16 17 WHEREAS, in 2019, the United Nations Environmental Programme issued findings entitled Single- 18 Use Plastics, a Roadmap to Sustainability which noted the miracle of plastics, the lives it has saved, and 19 the positive impact it can have on the growth of clean energy, but also warned that improperly discarded 20 plastics are so ubiquitous that it shows up in seafood as well as in food claims from livestock; and, 21 WHEREAS, these United Nations findings also indicated that positive actions by governments can 22 assist with an essentially painless but profitable course of action that can avert downstream costs of 23 pollution,as well as premature filling of sanitary landfills; and, 24 WHEREAS, these United Nations findings quoted a report from the Ocean Conservancy on 25 International Coastal Cleanup 2017, which found that "in order of magnitude, cigarette butts, plastic 26 beverage bottles,plastic bottle caps, straws and stirrers, glass beverage bottles,other kinds of plastic bags, 27 and foam take-way containers were among the top ten (10) wastes recovered in coastal cleanup efforts; 28 and, 29 WHEREAS,municipal studies such as a December 20,2018,study by the City of Berkeley,California, 30 determined single-use disposable packaging—e.g., plates,cutlery,cups, lids, straws and containers—made 31 up 25% of the waste produced in California, and referenced a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 32 that suggested by 2050, if corrective action is not taken,"there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish"; 33 and, [Page 1 of 3] 1 WHEREAS, in 2014 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Municipal Solid Waste 2 Landfills: Economic Impact Analysis for the Proposed New Subpart of the New Source Performance 3 Standards which determined that in the United States 17.3% of all solid waste taken to municipal landfills 4 is plastic; and, 5 WHEREAS,it can take up to 1,000 years for plastic products to decompose in a landfill if not otherwise 6 addressed; and, 7 WHEREAS, China, which until recently imported 45% of plastic wastes from various countries, and 8 in 2016 banned the import of certain plastic waste which, according to one research article, means that by 9 2030 the Chinese policy, if not addressed by other local actions,will displace an estimated 111 million tons 10 of plastic waste throughout the world; and, 11 WHEREAS,cities such as Seattle,Washington,have enacted ordinances that would mandate a ban on 12 the use of such items, but there are numerous ways that a local community can address the issue and 13 structure a program that meets its specific needs as well as assists vendors with the implementation of such 14 a program that can be painless and profitable as noted by the United States findings; and, 15 WHEREAS, single-use merchandise bags have caused significant litter and trash problems for Little 16 Rock, its citizens,taxpayers and the environment; and, 17 WHEREAS,the widespread use of difficult to recycle or compost single-use plates, bowls, cups and 18 utensils has caused substantial litter and trash problem costly to our citizens, our tax payers, our City and 19 our environment; and, 20 WHEREAS,the City Board must consider the extent and potential impacts, including financial costs, 21 resulting from the disposal of plastics. 22 NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 23 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 24 Section 1. The Board of Directors of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, expresses its intention to 25 consider approaches, including possible regulation, of several kinds of merchandise bags, sacks, and other 26 difficult to recycle or compost single-use plastic items. 27 Section 2. The Board of Directors of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, requests that a Task Force be 28 established to research the various issues about the impact of single-use plastics on the City sanitary landfill, 29 including the prominence of such items in City litter, and to identify potential cost effective and 30 environmentally sensitive alternatives to the continued use of such items, to be composed of three (3) 31 representatives from and chosen by the Little Rock Sustainability Commission, three (3) members of the 32 business community, including vendors and users of such products, appointed by the Mayor, the City 33 Recycling and Sustainability Program Educator, and to be chaired by the City Sustainability Officer; 34 further, that a report with recommendations will be presented to the Mayor and Board of Directors by 35 December 31,2019. 'Page 2 of 31 1 Section 3. This Task Force should also review ordinances and regulatory programs throughout the 2 United States to help outline a structure that is most appropriate for the City, and for Central Arkansas as 3 well. 4 Section 4. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or 5 word of this resolution is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or 6 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the resolution which shall remain in full force and 7 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not originally a part of the 8 resolution. 9 Section 5. Repealer. All laws, ordinances,resolutions,or parts of the same,that are inconsistent with 10 the provisions of this resolution,are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. 11 ADOPTE 1• August 6,2019 12 A114.0 APPROVED: 13 14 ,' 15 SusanII ity Clerk Frank Scott,Jr., ayor 1 16 APPR b TO LEGAL FORM: �9►, 17 18 / 111"t"4—r . L • _ 19 Thomas M.Carpenter,City Attorn 3, 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // 36 // [Page 3 of 31