How plastic bag ban is working in other cities

Generally all right, but don't be surprised if there are legal challenges and griping from customers once the city of L.A. finalizes an ordinance to ban plastic bags and charge shoppers for paper bags. From the LAT:

San Francisco approved the state's first plastic bag ban in 2007, applying it only to supermarkets and pharmacies. Since then, officials have moved to expand the bag restrictions, which has drawn a legal challenge. Despite initial grumbling from customers and business owners, the public has gotten used to bringing their own bags, said David Assmann, a manager in San Francisco's environment department. "I think it's become part of the culture here," he said.

In Los Angeles County, the 10-cent paper bag fee has led to a 94% reduction in the use of those bags, said Jennie R. Romer, founder of plasticbaglaws.org, who has advised cities on the passage of bag laws. Things went less smoothly in Oakland, which was successfully sued over its ban. That city dropped its measure but will be covered by Alameda County's plastic bag ban starting next year.

From the Guardian:

Not everyone is celebrating Wednesday's vote. Among the displeased was the American Progressive Bag Alliance, an organization representing the United States' plastic bag manufacturing and recycling sector. "Bag bans have not been proven to reduce litter," writes Mark Daniels, the organization's chair, in a statement. "With this draconian bag ban, the city takes a simplistic approach that misses an opportunity to provide a more effective solution for consumers and the environment - programs that encourage greater recycling of plastic and paper bags and preserve jobs."

The City Council voted 13 to 1 to phase out plastic bags over the next 16 months. Dozens of California cities, including San Jose, San Francisco and Long Beach have some sort of ban on plastic bags.

Earlier: L.A. City Council sets the stage for plastic bag ordinance