San Francisco bans use of plastic bags

Washington, Mar 29 (UNI) San Francisco has become the first US city to ban the use of plastic bags following intense lobbying efforts by environmentalists and supermarkets.

The city Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to soon sign a bill to this effect which was approved in the city council 10-1 yesterday.

The legislation requires large markets and drug stores to offer paper bags that can be recycled into compost, or reusable cloth, instead of plastics.

Plastic bags, besides, littering streets and choking marine life, also are difficult to get rid of. The measure, is said to go a long way toward helping the city get its green stripes.

The resolution, as adopted by the council says that plastic bags increasingly use scarce resources including energy, and create pollution from production through to disposal.

In 1999, more than 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans.

In the US alone, an estimated 12,000,000 barrels of oil are required to produce the 100 billion plastic bags used annually.

These bags also create significant litter problems for San Francisco's streets, beaches, sewer system and the marine environment.

Besides this, it is estimated that in every square mile of ocean there are over 46,000 pieces of plastic, of which plastic bags are a component, according to the resolution.

Environmentalists argue that over 100,000 marine animals die every year from plastic entanglement.

However, 50 grocery stores that would be most affected by the law argued that the ban was not reasonable because plastic bags made of corn byproducts are a relatively new, expensive and untested product.

The switch from plastic to paper bags is scheduled to take effect in six months for grocery stores and in one year for pharmacies.

UNI