The goal of this ordinance is to reduce overall plastic bag use. As illustrated in other communities who have passed similar ordinances, bans are better than fees at helping us reach this goal. California law (AB2449) prohibited charging for plastic bags, however it didn’t prohibit charging for paper bags.
As a result, retailers are able to recover their cost for providing paper bags, and this small fee helps encourages customers to use reusable bags, thus also reducing the use of paper bags.