Green San Francisco Supervisor Leads Charge to Ban Plastic Bags
Green Party of California
www.cagreens.org
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Contact: Susan King, spokesperson, 415.823-5524 funking@mindspring.com
Dr. Bob Vizzard, spokesperson, 916.206 8953, thevizz@aol.com
Sara Amir, spokesperson, 310.270-7106 saraamir@earthlink.net
Cres Vellucci, press secretary, 916.996-9170 civillib@cwnet.com
San Francisco becomes the first city in nation to
ban plastic bags; SF Supervisor Mirkarimi leads fights to save planet,
marine life.
SAN FRANCISCO (March 27, 2007) - San Francisco
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi - one of 50 elected Green Party members in the state - pushed through
an ordinance late Tuesday that would make San Francisco the first city in the nation to ban the
use of all but the most environmentally-sound shopping bags.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1
Tuesday to require the city's grocery stores and chain pharmacies to use only recyclable paper or
compostable bags, despite stiff resistance from the California Grocers Association and the
plastic industry.
"I have been astounded by the worldwide attention
the issue has received. Hopefully, other cities and states will follow suit,"
said Mirkarimi, adding that he believes the decision is part of a "trend of making sure that a forward-thinking
economy is one that understands its relationship with our environment."
The measure had been delayed after the grocery
industry went to the Legislature to intervene. Now, the law goes into effect for 54 grocery
stores within six months, and a year for large pharmacies with at least five locations. It
benefits consumers in many ways, says Mirkarimi.
The compostable "plastic" bags are stronger, they
can be dumped directly into a compost pile because they are made from starches like corn and
potatoes and they won't pollute the environment, kill marine life or gum up recycling machines.
The cost for compostable bags is about the same as paper bags.
Plastic bags are a worldwide environmental
disaster - and many countries have already made the leap to rid themselves of
the bags, of which as many as one trillion are used worldwide every year, according to experts. Sea life, from whales
to turtles to sea birds, ingest the bags.
The plastic bags are pervasive. In South Africa,
there are two Texas-size "islands" of plastic bags floating at sea, and
Bangladesh banned plastic when it was discovered millions of the bags blocked drains and led to massive flooding.
In Ireland, a "bag fee" led to a 90 percent reduction in the use of plastic in three years.