San Francisco Board Votes to Ban Some Plastic Bags

New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO, March 27 — Paper or paper?

That may soon be the only question heard at grocery counters across San Francisco, as the city’s Board of Supervisors cast a decisive blow in the paper versus plastic debate on Tuesday, banning non-biodegradable plastic bags in its large grocery stores and pharmacies.

The ordinance, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, will remove standard plastic bags from supermarkets and pharmacies with sales of more than $2 million a year, said its author, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who said his city was simply following a worldwide trend toward greener grocers.

“Scores of nations have already gone through this,” said Mr. Mirkarimi, citing similar laws in places including South Africa and Taiwan. “It’s really astounding the United States would be so late in the game to come online to do something that should be common sense.”

Link: San Francisco Board Votes to Ban Some Plastic Bags - New York Times.

San Francisco to ban plastic grocery bags

Reuters 03.28.07

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to become the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags from large supermarkets to help promote recycling. Under the legislation, beginning in six months large supermarkets and drugstores will not be allowed to offer plastic bags made from petroleum products. "Many [foreign] cities and nations have already implemented very similar legislation," said Ross Mirkarimi, the city legislator who championed the new law. "It's astounding that San Francisco would be the first U.S. city to follow suit."

ReusableBags.com Founder Interviewed by ABC News

ReusableBags.com founder Vincent Cobb interviewed by ABC News about IKEA implementing a charge for plastic bags, BYOB (bring your own bag) trends in the U.S. and other "banning the plastic bag" initiatives.

Link: Video interview - ABC News.

Attention Shoppers: Bring Your Own Bag

MSNBC.com

As a country, the United States throws away approximately 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags a year—less than 1 percent are recycled, the Worldwatch Institute reports. Despite the fact that just about any plastic bag brought home from the supermarket is reusable (and can take 1,000 years to degrade, according to the Environmental Protection Agency), the average family accumulates 60 of them in just four trips to the grocery store, according to reusablebags.com. (IKEA’s 59-cent Big Blue Bag is made of plastic, but “it would take 1,000 uses for it to be unusable,” according to their spokesperson.)

Link: Attention Shoppers: Bring Your Own Bag.

San Francisco Mulls Ban on Plastic Bags

ABC News (AP)

Paper or plastic? Shoppers may get a twist on that old checkout line question if the city approves a ban on plastic grocery bags.

Six San Francisco supervisors want the city to prohibit large grocers from giving out the sacks, which are blamed for eating up fossil fuel, littering streets and choking wildlife.

"San Francisco is poised to be the first U.S. city to ratchet up its response against global warming," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who wrote the measure scheduled to be heard next week. "By doing so, we will save millions of dollars for city coffers and for our refuse rate payers."

Link: San Francisco Mulls Ban on Plastic Bags.