SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - A proposed ban on the use of plastic bags in San Francisco’s large chain grocery stores could end up applying to smaller retail stores with a pharmacy license.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced legislation that would ban the use of plastic bags in the estimated 54 large grocery stores in San Francisco. He and other city officials are accusing a number of large grocery stores of failing to live up to an agreement with The City to reduce plastic bag usage in exchange for The City not moving forward with a 17-cent tax per plastic bag.

Tens of millions of plastic bags are used every year that wind up littering city streets, choking wildlife, gumming up recycling machines and using fossil fuels.

As introduced, the legislation would require grocery stores that do more than $2 million in sales a year to only use bags made of recyclable paper, plastic bags that can be broken down into compost or reusable canvas and durable plastic bags. Stores that defy the law would face fines between $100 and $500.

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The Board of Supervisors City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee did not approve the legislation following a more than three-hour public hearing Thursday, but instead continued a vote on the legislation for two weeks after amending the legislation to apply to those stores with 5,000 square feet of retail and a pharmacy license. This was intended to include other stores responsible for high volumes of plastic bags such as Walgreens.

Mirkarimi, who is not a voting member on the committee, was opposed to the amendment, saying it “becomes a portal to opening a door of consideration of other consequences unforeseen.” The supervisor primarily wants to target the 54 large grocery stores and believes the amendment will create more confusion and resistance.

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier said the legislation should include the biggest users of plastic bags. “I think we should be consistent. I think that by going directly after grocery markets, we weren’t showing consistency,” Alioto-Pier said.

Peter Larkin, president of the California Grocers Association, said adding the requirement of compostable bags makes no sense, as it would “complicate the whole system.” Instead, Larkin advised The City to continue efforts “to reduce, reuse and recycle more bags.”

jsabatini@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

1:41 PM MST on Wed., May. 14, 2008 re: "Plastic bags on their way out of The City"

Libidiot said:
They need to print "Recycle this Bag" in Chinese and Spanish on every plastic bag

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5:54 PM MST on Mon., May. 12, 2008 re: "Plastic bags on their way out of The City"

gerryx21dlr said:
I worked for Walgreens in Santa Rosa where the manager had to put a plastic bag recycle bin near the register. I found out that he told his staff just to throw out the accumulated bags alsong with the regular trash. OMG! I decided to take responsibilty and took the full bin of bags to Safeway's recycling area without telling my manager. If Walgreens could, they would lobby against using paper over plastic, citing extra costs and not really caring about the environment, wildlife, etc. Walgreens is not a good company.

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10:21 AM MST on Mon., May. 12, 2008 re: "Plastic bags on their way out of The City"

Examiner Reader said:
I do not often agree with the Supervisors but this time i do. Next to fast food trash plastic bags are all over the place and I have to pick them up because the city does not. How about charging fast food vendors a clean up fee and use the fee to employ people (supervised of course) to pick up the trash.

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2:15 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "Annapolis� proposed plastic bag ban sparks controversy"

Pizza said:
It is not that difficult to use a reuseable bag. Clearly plastic bags are not being recycled - look at the streets in the city. Maybe we should grow up and take some responsibility for ourselves and stop whining that we're inconvenienced by environmentalists.

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10:16 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "Business owners blast plan for bottle deposit, plastic bag ban"

Examiner Reader said:
Don't use paper bags because trees have to be killed to make them. Now don't use plastic. It's for the kids. It's for the kids. I'm so sick of hearing that. Let's stop living so we don't disrupt the environment.

0 agree | 2 disagree
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6:54 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "Business owners blast plan for bottle deposit, plastic bag ban"

Examiner Reader said:
Smiley face fascists like James Kraft continue to use �green� legislation to increase government�s power to regulate every human activity. The functionally illiterate voters in the City will welcome this fascist legislation and then whine for more government welfare when the Baltimore City economy takes another hit.

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2:39 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 9, 2008 re: "Lawmakers consider ban on plastic bags"

Student said:
The next generation will not complain about purchase tax or plastic old bags! Sell the trees for furniture not bags. Recycle!

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10:57 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 8, 2008 re: "Lawmakers consider ban on plastic bags"

Examiner Reader said:
Look we can't even keep criminals off the streets what makes them think we can stop people from using plastic bags. Don't we have better stuff to worrie about than plastic bags? like the fall of Maryland due to O'ididnothingforthestatemalley.

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9:08 AM MST on Sat., Mar. 8, 2008 re: "Alderman seeks to ban bags"

Examiner Reader said:
Let's not forget that it's not just supermarket shoppers who rely upon plastic bags to get groceries home. Just last week, when I shopped at a gift shop, a toy store, a beer store, a couple restaurants, bought girl scout cookies and got my shirts from a dry cleaner, all delivered my goods in plastic. Will we also ban newspapers being wrapped in plastic, or make it a crime to send our kids' lunches in plastic bags? This bill is completely ridiculous. As another reader stated, let's enforce the laws we already have instead of wasting state time & resources enacting new ones. I happen to reuse the grocery bags in my home's trash cans around the house, so they serve a useful purpose. My teenager, who is into saving trees, will have a heart attack if suddenly I require 15 huge paper bags to get my groceries. (I guarantee nobody will ever have enough of the reusable ones.)

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5:18 PM MST on Wed., Jan. 30, 2008 re: "Recycling group: Oakland plastic bag ban hurts the environment"

Examiner Reader said:
When the handles fail in the supermarket paper bags or if the paper bags fail and you are carrying glass jars, bottles, and breakable items in them, send Ross Mikarimi the bill. His idea.

69 agree | 62 disagree
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4:15 PM MST on Wed., Jan. 30, 2008 re: "Recycling group: Oakland plastic bag ban hurts the environment"

Seven said:
At the Safeway I shop in the Sunset (San Francisco), I haven't seen much of an increase in use of reuseable bags. The city ban on plastic bags has been pretty much just a swap of plastic bags for paper bags. However, the Sunset was the only district to vote against the plastic bag ban in the first place.

70 agree | 66 disagree
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4:40 PM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Environmentalists� input sought tonight to change recycling bill"

Bag Monster said:
I support politicians who resist pressure to set unreachable goals with unreasonable timetables on environmental issues. Additionally, I commend the mayor for encouraging people to use �recyclable materials� like plastic bags! Glad to know some people are being realistic about environmental issues even in the wake of uber-Liberal San Francisco�s bag ban. Plastic grocery bags are recyclable, so what�s with trying to ban plastic bags? It's hard being a Bag Monster!

114 agree | 106 disagree
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6:29 AM MST on Tue., Nov. 20, 2007 re: "Plastic bag ban just part of S.F. green wave"

Jeff, an Independent said:
First it was paper bags killing trees, now it is plastic bags killing the environment? Has anybody ever heard of the term "recycling"?

113 agree | 90 disagree
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6:33 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 27, 2007 re: "Annapolis� proposed plastic bag ban sparks controversy"

Examiner Reader said:
Oh you've got to be kidding. Bery Scher of Giant likening banning plastic bags to banning cars. OK then, let's ban plastic bags and install speed limitation devices on cars (the way people drive in this state, it could only help). Even better is Safeway's Ten Eyk hiding behind the old "un-American" line...the ultimate in lame attempts to stop an argument! Look at the mounting litter and destruction humans' "freedom of choice" has brought to the environment! Quit being so ego-centric and grab a reuseable bag or two or three. Keep forgetting to bring them back to your car? Put them on the handle of your front door after you've unpacked them. This is something SO SIMPLE that will only have a positive impact for the environment and the animals that presently suffer because of human selfish laziness. I can't wait to see this ban enacted!

192 agree | 212 disagree
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8:47 AM MST on Wed., Jul. 4, 2007 re: "Alderman seeks to ban bags"

Examiner Reader said:
Howzabout if you don't like plastic bags, don't take them. Don't force your bag preference on me. Improper disposal of bags is the problem, not the bags themselves. And littering is already a crime. Oh, that's right... we don't enforce laws in Maryland, only make new ones.

193 agree | 183 disagree
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3:40 AM MST on Mon., May. 28, 2007 re: "Plastic bag ban just part of S.F. green wave"

starbrite said:
I think this is a fabulous idea, hooray for progress! However, opponents raise some very valid points. The primary problem is that, without plastic (or paper, either, I would suggest), just what ARE you going to bring your purchases home in? Some say use the reusable bags. Great idea, for those of us who have and use them. I keep some in my car for when I shop, as does my family, and I have a few friends who do as well. But there've been a number of times I left them at home or I was out with a friend and didn't have them, and the store didn't have any left. Many, many, many businesses don't carry reusable bags. On top of that, most people may just end up accumulating more and more of the reusables - and likely just throw them out. NOT a solution! Hopefully the ban will force people to change their habits - although if in 10 years only 1% of all plastic bags are recycled annually, my guess is that human nature - laziness - invariably will make or break the success of this effort.

240 agree | 190 disagree
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10:23 AM MST on Sat., May. 12, 2007 re: "Plastic bag ban just part of S.F. green wave"

Mink said:
I think that we should ban plastic bags because they are not good for the enviroment. Also whenever you drive you see atleast one on the side of the road that one careless person through out their window. Animals could die from this and also it causes global warming.

250 agree | 248 disagree
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9:15 AM MST on Thu., May. 10, 2007 re: "Plastic bag ban just part of S.F. green wave"

Examiner Reader said:
I'd like to see the plastic bag ban extended to everyone, not just large chains. I see more bags that say "thank you" on them floating around or in the streets than ones that say "Riteaid", "Walgreens", "Safeway" or "Albertsons". Everyone needs to take responsibility including small businesses. It will not kill people to get in the habit of carrying a reusable bag when they go shopping, or to not use a bag for something that will fit in their purse.

261 agree | 234 disagree
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8:52 AM MST on Thu., May. 10, 2007 re: "Plastic bag ban just part of S.F. green wave"

Examiner Reader said:
this is a great article. rigefield should conserve more too!!!

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6:03 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 11, 2007 re: "Plastic bag ban just part of S.F. green wave"

Examiner Reader said:
Hey Keeks this is for you, this is a cool article and may be a good idea to have everywhere.

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