Pantagraph.com Weather forecast, local radar and more
MoneyWednesday, July 23, 2008 1:06 PM CDT
Comments Comments (8) | E-mail this page E-mail this page | Print this page Print this page | Enlarge type Enlarge type | Reduce type Reduce type | Search archives Search archives | RSS RSS feeds | Add to My Yahoo! Add to My Yahoo!
Starting in 2010, plastic bags will be no-no in Los Angeles
By Associated Press
Advertisement

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles shoppers soon won't hear the question, "Paper or plastic?" at the checkout line. The City Council voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores, beginning July 1, 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper or biodegradable bag.

The council's unanimous vote also puts pressure on the state, which is considering an Assembly bill that would impose bag recycling requirements on stores. City officials said their ban would not be implemented if the state passes the bill and requires at least a 25-cent charge per bag.

"We've gotten to a point where we need to act as a city, where we can have real results," said Councilman Ed Reyes, who proposed the bag ban. "We're trying to do it in a way where we can educate and inform the public of what we're doing."

Reyes said the ban will minimize cleanup costs for the city and reduce trash that collects in storm drains and the Los Angeles River. The city estimates more than 2 billion plastic bags are used each year in Los Angeles. About 5 percent of plastic bags and 21 percent of paper bags are recycled in California.

Banning plastic bags will not solve the litter problem, said an attorney who opposes the regulation of plastic bags.

"We've had enough of politicians accepting the misinformation that's spread around the Internet about plastic bags," said Stephen Joseph of the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, which represents bag manufacturers.

Joseph said the city motion gives "a free pass" to paper bags, which he argued are biodegradable but consume more materials and natural resources to make.

Three percent of the bag fee will be returned to the retailer, 3 percent will go to the state, and the rest will go back to the city to fund an education campaign.

Last year, San Francisco passed the nation's first bag ban, which took effect in November.

Take a look
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores, beginning July 1, 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper or biodegradable bag.
Video
Most commented stories
Community calendar
Browse online archives
Recent issues:
Reader comments on this story - 8 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

HUH wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:57 PM:

" I really don't like plastic bags. In my opinion paper is much better. All you have to do is look at the fields by a Walmart and see all the plastic bags laying out there. They blow for miles with the wind. At least paper degrades. Plastic lasts almost forever.

But this problem my just go away on it's own. If Obama gets elected the taxes he will force on us means we won't have any money to buy anything anyway. "

KRAMER wrote on Jul 23, 2008 5:03 PM:

" to bkr0521: plastic may not kill a tree but it takes oil to produce one. it also kills marine life. Green sea turtles mistake the bags for jellyfish and try to eat them = death. there is thousands of sq. mi. in the pacific where plastic collects by the millions of tons.. google "sea of plastic." for more info.. "

Billy the Bard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:31 PM:

" This is kind of funny, since paper bags emit off the very gasses supspected to cause global warming when they degrade. Maybe stores should just rent out grocery carts, so people can simply walk to and from their local store with their cart full of groceries. "

Zeder wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:20 PM:

" What about all the ILLEGALS?? Will they be legal???
Wait.. obama will make them legal. My bad. "

Tom Terrific wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:10 AM:

" Does this mean they will get rid of plastic garbage bags as well? I wonder how well a 13 gallon paper trash bag would work. "

dalmanites wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:00 AM:

" You can buy reusable bags for 99 cents at Trader Joe's and they hold a heck of a lot more than plastic bags being more the shape and size of paper bags. I wouldn't, personally, shell out $10 for a small cloth bag that doesn't hold all that much. If our local grocers could provide the kind of bag that Trader Joe's sells, I believe that more people would use them. And yes, I realize that Trader Joe's is not in Central Illinois, but they are in the South Suburbs and Indianapolis. I've continually emailed them to ask for a store. "

jBlm1 wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:52 AM:

" $10 for a cloth bag? Where are you shopping?? There are reusable cloth bags or other materials all over town for around $2. Way to make this 'Go Green' environmentally-friendly regulation into a negative situation.....The no-plastic ban should be made nationwide. "

bkr0521 wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:25 AM:

" Plastic bags use less energy to make and to ship to stores for use, plus don't kill a tree. If you have to buy bags, either cloth ones to take with you or ones at the store, people will have to start shopping several days a week, instead of going once and getting many bags worth. At $10 a pop for the little cloth bags and the fact that people will be shopping more often, I bet the grocery retailers in CA are dancing for joy. "
Add your own comments

Please read the rules before posting comments.

You must be logged in to leave comments.
If you don't have a member ID, please register.

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login?
(requires cookies)
  Forgot Your Password?
 
Lee Enterprises Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy