The plastic checkout bag ban, which was implemented by San Francisco last October, is part of the City’s plan for a Zero Waste environment; however, the ordinance received mixed reviews from San Franciscans.
The plastic bag ban’s goal is to encourage customers to bring their own bags when shopping. If the customer does not have a bag, recyclable and compostable bags are still available for purchase at a 10 cent per bag charge.
According to the San Francisco Department of the Environment’s (SFE) website, the ordinance “helps reduce unnecessary waste, contamination in recycling and composting programs and litter, all of which is costly to the taxpayers of San Francisco, as well as harmful to marine life.”
It took over a year-and-a-half for the initiative to become what it is today. The original planning began in November 2011, and the mayor signed the ordinance into effect in early 2012. Then, education and outreach programs including working with businesses by sending letters, hosting presentations and bag fairs, began.
Large retail companies, such as Safeway, and smaller businesses have differing opinions on the bag ban’s implementation. With over 1,600 stores throughout the United States and Canada, Safeway can easily enforce the plastic bag ban and handle disgruntled customers.
“We find that most (customers) are positive. Store signage ahead of implementation helped prepare for the change,” said Keith Turner, director of Public and Government Affairs at Safeway in Northern California. “Most customers are prepared by bringing their own reusable bags when they shop.”
In contrast, smaller businesses have been affected by the ban. José Gil, owner of Casa Guadalupe on Mission Street, commented that there has been an increase in theft.
“The customers come in and put produce in their bags and leave without paying,” he said.
Currently, SFE is conducting a formal study on the ordinance.
“San Francisco took the lead and several cities around California are following …(such as) San Jose and Alameda County,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Policy and Communications director at the SFE.
Despite attempts to inform the public about the ordinance, even in different languages, not everyone is completely informed about the ban.
If the stores do not charge for bags and the incident is reported to SFE, then the stores will be sent written warnings. However, if the warnings are ignored, stores will be fined $100.
“(Bringing your own bag) is more of an inconvenience. The change to paying for bags did force me to adjust to bringing bags along with me to every grocery store I go to,” said Jocelyn Redenius, a recent Saint Ignatius College Preparatory graduate.
After the city’s attempts to reduce the use of plastic bags, there have been some positive results. “We have seen some reduction in San Francisco and drop in plastic bags,” said Recology Public Relations Manager Robert Reed. “Recology still struggles to deal with plastic bags and the problems that they cause at the recycling center.”
While San Francisco has led the way with the plastic bag ban, the initiative will not be enforced throughout California. Since 2010, there have been six attempts to pass a bill that would slowly phase out the use of plastic bags. The most recent bill failed in the Senate on May 30 by falling short of three votes on an 18-17 roll call.
There has been much controversy over the environmental impact of the new policy. Although plastic bags take 15 to 1,000 years to decompose, usually end up in landfills and pose a threat to birds and marine life, reusable bags can also have a negative impact on the environment.
Reusable bags come in different levels of environmental friendliness—depending on what the materials are, the reusable bag may have a negative impact on the environment, though significantly less than that of a plastic or paper bag.
Cities and countries around the world are adapting to a reduction in plastic bag consumption. In 2002, Ireland began to tax plastic bags because the country was using 1.2 billion plastic bags annually, resulting in a 90 percent decrease in consumption.
With developing technology and studies conducted in San Francisco and across the world, the concept of a plastic bag ban will continue to evolve.