SUBSTITUTE ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Chicago seeks to reduce the toxicity of waste materials in the solid waste stream that are directed to resource recovery and sanitary landfill facilities, and to maximize the removal of plastic carryout bags from the waste stream; and
WHEREAS, The City Council finds that plastic carryout bags are not biodegradable, which means that these bags ultimately break down into smaller bits that contaminate soil and waterways and enter into the food supply that animals and marine life ingest; and
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WHEREAS, The production of plastic bags worldwide requires the use of more than 12 million barrels of oil per year, which also has a significant environmental impact; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
SECTION 1. Chapter 11 -4 of the Municipal Code of Chicago is hereby amended by inserting'a new Article XXIII, as follows:
ARTICLE XXIII. RETAIL BAG USE
11-4-4000 Definitions.
As used in this Article XXIII: j
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"Chain store organization" means (1) three or more stores having common ownership, or (2) any store, regardless of ownership, that is part of a franchise.
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of health of the City of Chicago.
"Compostable plastic bag" means any bag that (1) when placed with other biodegradable or decaying natural materials will be broken down into simple organic components by biological processes, and (2) meets the current American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6400 Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics, and (3) has been certified as a compostable product by the Biodegradable Products Institute ("BPI") or other independent, testing organization approved by the commissioner, as evidenced by the presence on the bag of the BPI
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Commercial Logo or other logo approved by the commissioner, indicating that the bag is "commercially compostable" or "compostable in an industrial composting facility."
"Customer(s)" means any perso...
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