ADVISORY: Please read the newer, updated story (last updated: December 2008) about the plastic bag ban at: San Francisco's Plastic Bag ban - a Report from the City.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Following is the original May 2008 post:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .On May 20th San Francisco's plastic bag ban, which already applies to large supermarkets, expands to cover chain pharmacies. These pharmacies were granted an extra six months to comply with the law.
In the photo: San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi
The bag ordinance, which was introduced and championed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, bans traditional plastic carryout bags. The implementation of the ordinance marks a significant victory in the fight to reduce the amount of plastic entering the City's landfills, especially given that similar ordinances in several other cities are facing lawsuits and other pressures aimed at delaying implementation of their plastic bag bans.
San Francisco's ban on plastic bags has ignited a worldwide interest in banning these ubiquitous scourges of modern life. In addition to the immediate benefits stemming from using and discarding less plastic waste, the law has helped people to become more aware of how their actions affect the environment and led many to realize that the minor effort involved in shopping with reusable tote bags is a small price to pay for improving the environment of the City and the world.
For newer, updated information about how well (or not so well) the bag ban is working, please read: San Francisco's Plastic Bag ban - a Report from the City.
Further information on how the ban is spreading and helping to enhance environmental awareness can be found in this NPR story and this USA Today article.
Ross Mirkarimi and the plastic bag ban legislation he created are featured in the April 28 issue of People magazine (see below). The article notes that San Francisco's ban is the nation's first and that now more than a dozen US cities and four states are considering similar bans. It goes on to record that our country consumes between 30-100 billion bags per year, that untold thousands of sea turtles and other creatures are killed by these bags yearly, and that plastic bags have been reported to litter even remote Antarctica.
In addition to serving San Franciscans as a member of our Board of Supervisors, Ross Mirkarimi is co-founder of the California chapter of the Green Party.
Resources:
San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi
San Francisco Environment Department- sfenvironment.org - plastic bag ban
sfenvironment.org - homepage for San Francisco's Environment Department
California Green Party
3 comments:
Congrats San Francisco!!!! It's about time someone became the leader in this tragic mess of plastic we've created. Let's attack the small plastic water bottles next!!!
THANKS AGAIN!!
I'd like to know why thicker plastic bags which are now being used in place of the previous thinner ones. I asked a Walgreen's cashier at Geary/18th about this, and he said the new thick ones are 'reusable and recyclable.' -NEWSFLASH- The thinner ones are reusable and recyclable, too!
Why has this initiative to eliminate plastic bags resulted in exacerbating the situation? Are the thick ones made with biodegradable cornstarch, or are they now accepted in curbside recycling? I'd like to know.
The DeLano's on Geary/27th has a sign at the register, touting the green aspects of their paper bags, and the cornstarch-based biodegradable plastic bags. When I asked the cashier about the cornstarch in the thicker plastic bags, he said "what do you mean 'cornstarch'? These are just regular plastic."
What's really going on here? It doesn't seem that the retailers know.
Tin Pigeon, you are absolutely right. It looks like the big retailers are fighting back Republican style - with mean, dirty little tricks. They substitute plastic bags with ... plastic bags. The only thing that makes the new, thicker plastic bags acceptable is that the new bags are so damn thick they are considered "permanent" bags. Great. I think we ought to gather up all those thicker plastic bags and melt them down into one really thick dong so we can stick it right back up the ... oops ... sorry. I got way off subject there boys and girls. So ... bye for now.
Post a Comment