San Francisco Considers Plastic Bag Ban Expansion

The city may target all retailers for the ban on disposable plastic bag distribution.

August 04, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO - In 2007, San Francisco banned plastic bags at big grocery stores and chain drugstores. Today, the city is looking to include all retailers, including bookstores, clothing stores, department stores and hardware stores, in the ban, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the author of the 2007 law, formally presented the expanded measure at yesterday??s Board of Supervisors meeting. The California Legislature currently is debating a statewide barring of disposable plastic bags and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his support of the bill.

Current San Francisco law requires large supermarkets, such as Safeway, and drugstore chains, such as Walgreens, to give customers only three types of bags at checkout: compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags and reusable bags. Single-use disposable bags are banned completely at those locations.

The new version of the law, which carries a March 1, 2011, enactment date, contains exemptions for produce bags and garment bags, such as for dry cleaning. Mirkarimi also might introduce a companion bill that would levy a dime on each paper bag.

"Plastic bags are a clear example of excess run amok," said Mirkarimi. "People don??t necessarily realize the composition of the plastic bag or the consequences of the plastic bag. ...They??re omnipresent."

During the three years since the city??s ban has been in effect, the city estimates 100 million plastic bags have not found their way into the waste stream, said Mark Westlund, spokesman for the San Francisco Department of the Environment.

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