Jan 19 - SF Looks Into Requiring Compostable Grocery Bags
San Francisco may pursue a requirement that all grocery carryout bags be compostable. San Francisco already provides residents with a food and greenwaste collection and composting program. A compostable bag requirement would make them compatible with this existing waste reduction program.
This new effort comes on the heels of local SF officials upset with grocery store chains for failing to live up to a 2005 agreement to cut plastic bag use in the city. Read more about this in yesterday's Recycling News item.
Jared Blumenfeld, director of the SF Department of the Environment is quoted saying the city should look into getting rid of plastic bags entirely. Charlie Goodyear of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
City officials say they believe nothing prevents them from requiring biodegradable plastic bags, which Blumenfeld argued are now an economically feasible option for grocery store.
The proposal has the support of Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who has called for a hearing into how large markets have been complying with the 2005 recycling agreement.
What You Can Do
- Learn more about the plastic litter problem.