Paper or plastic? San Francisco decides

By a 10-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors required the use of compostable or recyclable bags -- a move officials predicted could soon be imitated by other cities nationwide. One supervisor voted against the ban, saying the issue needed more study.

Each year businesses here dispense an estimated 180 million plastic bags, killing marine life and clogging landfills, said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.

The Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance, written by Mirkarimi and co-sponsored by six other supervisors, gives major supermarket chains with more than $2 million in annual sales six months to make the switch to biodegradable bags. Pharmacies and retailers with at least five locations have one year. Violators face fines of up to $500.

At a news conference before the bill's passage, Mirkarimi handed out canvas shopping bags that read "SF Environment: Our Home. Our City. Our Planet." The new law calls for bags that are reusable or made of recyclable paper or plastic that can be composted.

"We can take steps to make our economy a little more soulful in San Francisco," Mirkarimi told the crowd in front of City Hall. "We can't sleepwalk into the future. The end of the era of cheap oil is here."

Advocates say biodegradable bags are stronger than conventional petroleum-based polyurethane plastic bags. In his office before the news conference, Mirkarimi produced a biodegradable bag holding 55 pounds of rocks.

South Africa, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Paris have enacted similar bans. Ireland imposed a plastic-bag tax. Mirkarimi said he has heard from other cities nationwide that are interested in following San Francisco's lead.

The ordinance, endorsed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, was vigorously opposed by the California Grocers Assn., which said that the ban on plastic bags would frustrate current recycling efforts and cost consumers, who would end up paying for the higher-priced recyclable bags.

"The proposed ordinance will have unintended consequences," said Kristin Power, the group's vice president of government relations. "Compostable plastic bags can't be recycled like regular plastic, so if consumers confuse the two, they'll render the entire batch unusable."