San Francisco To Ban Plastic Grocery Bags

[Guest guest]

After weeks of intense lobbying from environmentalists and a

supermarket trade group, city lawmakers approved a ban on plastic

grocery bags, a first for a U.S. city.

 

The law adopted on a 10-1 vote requires large markets and drug stores

to give customers only the choice of bags made of paper that can be

recycled, plastic that breaks down easily enough to be made into

compost or reusable cloth.

 

San Francisco supervisors and supporters said that by banning the

petroleum-based sacks blamed for littering streets and choking marine

life, the measure would go a long way toward helping the city earn

its green stripes.

 

" Hopefully, other cities and states will follow suit, " said

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who crafted the ban after trying to get a

15-cent per bag tax passed in 2005.

 

The 50 grocery stores that would be most affected by the legislation

argued that the ban was not reasonable because plastic bags made of

corn byproducts are a relatively new, expensive and untested product.

Some said they might offer only paper bags at checkout.

 

" I think what grocers will do now that this has passed is they will

review all their options and decide what they think works best for

them economically, " said David Heylen, a spokesman for the California

Grocers Association.

 

Mayor Gavin Newsom supported the measure and is expected to sign it

into law. The switch is scheduled to take effect in six months for

grocery stores and in one year for pharmacies.

 

Craig Noble, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council,

said it would be disappointing if grocers rejected the biodegradable

plastic bag option since more trees would have to be cut down if

paper bag use increases.

 

The new breed of bags " offers consumers a way out of a false choice,

a way out of the paper or plastic dilemma, " Noble said.