SF Out to Make Plastic Bags Extinct

Mar 28, 01:39 PM

Current Headlines: By Lisa Leff THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO -- After weeks of intense lobbying from environmentalists and a supermarket trade group, city lawmakers on Tuesday 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.

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.

"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.

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