In a bid to stop the scourge of plastic bags, Los Angeles authorities approved a plan Wednesday, requesting large grocers to reduce the use of plastic bags.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor said in a statement that if no measure was taken over the next five years, the city would impose an all-out ban on plastic bags.
The move was designed to dramatically reduce the number of plastic grocery bags reaching landfills or littering streets, the statement said.
The board also voted to pursue state legislation that would allow the county and other jurisdictions to impose a fee on every plastic bag used by shoppers.
Under the plan, which was approved unanimously, grocery stores will be asked to take part in a "Single Use Bag Reduction and Recycling Program," with the goal of reducing the use of the bags by 30 percent by 2010 and by 65 percent by 2013.
According to official statistics, six billion plastic bags are used every year in the Los Angeles area, or roughly 600 bags per person per year. About 45,000 tons of plastic bags are thrown away every year by residents, with less than 5 percent of bags being recycled.
Perhaps more problematic is the number of bags that are not disposed of properly and wind up littering trees, beaches and streets, city officials said.
"To tackle the litter problem, including plastic carryout bag litter, public agencies in Los Angeles County collectively spend tens of millions of dollars per year on litter prevention, cleanup and enforcement activities," according to a report released earlier by the city.
"The cost to local governments is expected to dramatically rise over the next few years as agencies strive to comply with the federal Clean Water Act," said the report.
The proposed bag-reduction plan originally called for the number of plastic bags to be reduced by 35 percent by 2010 and 70 percent by 2013. But the proposal was amended during an animated discussion among board members, who eventually voted 3-2 to lower the goals to 30 percent and 65 percent.
If the reduction goals are not met, the county could then implement an all-out ban on the use of the plastic bags.
The original plan called for county staffers to have a proposed ordinance prepared by April 1, 2009 banning the bags, but the board agreed -- by the same 3-2 vote -- to extend that deadline until 2010.
San Francisco recently became the first American city to ban plastic bags at chain grocery stores.
Source: Xinhua
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