Plastic bag ban starts Monday
October 1, 2012
San Luis Obispo County residents need to add reusable bags to their shopping lists or pay 10 cents apiece for paper bags to comply with a new ordinance that goes into effect on Monday.
Following impassioned arguments for and against the use of plastic bags, the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority in January voted 8-5 to ban plastic bags and require stores to charge for paper bags.
Proponents of the ordinance noted the environmental hazards with plastic bags ending up in waterways, poisoning marine life and polluting landfills. Opponents questioned the safety of reusing cloth bags because bacteria could result in cross contamination and argued against the mandated paper bag charge.
Dozens of U.S. cities and counties now outlaw the use of plastic bags with some also restricting the use of paper bags. In addition, several retailers, such as Whole Foods, voluntarily stopped the use of plastic bags at all of their stores.
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