San Francisco Moves To Ban Plastic Bags

San Francisco Moves To Ban Plastic Bags
Supermarkets Have Six Months, Drugstores A Year To Replace Bags

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2007
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Shoppers walk with plastic bags, March 27, 2007, in the Chinatown district of
San Francisco. (AP)






Quote

"Hopefully, other cities and states will follow suit, just like many other
countries have done and cities in other countries."

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Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the ban's sponsor

WHAT DO YOU THINK?


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(CBS/AP) San Francisco city leaders approved a ban on plastic grocery bags after
weeks of lobbying on both sides from environmentalists and a supermarket trade
group.

If Mayor Gavin Newsom signs the ban as expected, San Francisco would be the
first U.S. city to adopt such a rule.

The law, passed by a 10-1 vote, requires large markets and drug stores to give
customers only a choice among bags made of paper that can be recycled, plastic
that breaks down easily enough to be made into compost, or reusable cloth.

Major grocery stores, with annual retail sales of $2 million or more have until
October to switch to something that dissolves more easily, reports Manuel Ramos
of CBS station KPIX. Large pharmacies have until next year.

"I think it's good. I think the environment needs to get greener," said shopper
Heidi Bass.

"You see them flying around all the time on the streets," added shopper Lexi
Kent-Monning.

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, just like many other
countries have done and cities in other countries," said Supervisor Ross
Mirkarimi, who crafted the ban after trying to get a 15-cent per bag tax passed
in 2005. "They've either banned plastic bags altogether, levied a very high fee
or have sought an alternative like a biodegradable bag."

San Francisco officials estimate up to 200 million of these plastic bags are
used each year, reports CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman.

The 50 grocery stores that would be most affected by the law 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.

Newsom supported the measure.

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.



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