SAN FRANCISCO FLIMSY BAGS OUT AT BIG DRUG STORES

Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Walgreens and Rite Aid stores may no longer hand out those ubiquitous flimsy plastic bags to customers in San Francisco as a groundbreaking city law banning plastic sacks at some major retailers expands today to include chain pharmacies.

The new restrictions come six months after the ordinance banning plastic bags at large supermarkets went into effect, a law hailed by city leaders and environmentalists. Other cities - as close as Oakland and as far away as Paris - have passed bans of their own since then, and industry-friendly China will bar stores from handing out free plastic bags come June 1.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who sponsored the ordinance, has even garnered a bit of celebrity for his work on the issue, including a recent spread in People Magazine.

Mirkarimi and officials at the Department of the Environment, the city agency charged with enforcing the ban, say the ordinance has been such a success that they are fielding inquiries on a daily basis from other cities considering similar laws.

"I have rarely seen an idea that has traveled with such velocity throughout the country and abroad," said Mirkarimi, who admits surprise at its popularity. "I am hearing from cities in red states as much as blue states. It's very exciting. It transcends partisanship and borders."

The law is meant to decrease waste and litter and curb dependence on petroleum, as the bags are oil-based.

Read Full Story Here: San Francisco: Plastic-Bag Ban Expands to Chain Pharmacies