Business owners facing the rollout of South Lake Tahoe’s plastic bag ban can learn more about the ban, ask questions and sound off about it to city officials at a meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 1901 Airport Road.

South Lake Tahoe’s plastic bag ban takes effect for grocery stores and food vendors on Jan. 15. For all remaining retail businesses the ban will take effect Oct. 15.

The ordinance bans businesses from offering customers plastic single-use carryout bags. It also bans them from offering paper bags with less than 40 percent recycled content.

Violations are punishable by administrative citation. Citations for a first violation will give the business 14 days to comply. Additional violations will result in a citation and the imposition of fines that need to be set in a future resolution by the city.

Excluded from the ban are plastic bags without handles provided to carry produce, bulk food or meat products to a point of sale; to hold prescription medication from a pharmacy; or to segregate food or merchandize that could damage or contaminate other goods when placed together in a bag.

South Lake Tahoe City Council adopted the plastic bag ban with a 3-2 vote in October.

Council members Brooke Laine, Angela Swanson and Mayor Pro Tem Hal Cole supported the ordinance. Mayor Tom Davis and Councilwoman JoAnn Conner voted against it.

South Lake Tahoe joins several other California communities in banning or discouraging the use of single-use plastic bags as a way to protect the environment, reduce waste and promote sustainability.

For more information, visit http://www.cityofslt.us/plasticbagban.