Following the footsteps of many other cities of U.S, San Francisco and California too have implemented the plastic bag ban. Though it has been a long time since the implementation, the ban is still getting mixed reactions from the residents of these cities.
Fate of the ban
San Francisco started its war on plastic bags in 2007. Under the ban plastic bags have been prohibited at drugstore chains and grocery stores. But litter surveys conducted throughout the city have a different story to say. The survey included 100 sites selected randomly from the city.
Before the implementation of the ban, the amount of litter created by plastic bags was 0.5 percent. Interestingly, this percentage rose to 1.5 percent by 2009. Spokesperson for the environment department of the city, Guillermo Rodriguez, said that no litter data has been collected in the city since the last survey in 2009.
In July 2012, the ban was made applicable to all the retailers in the city. This year it will be expanded to the restaurants in the city. San Francisco is planning to conduct another survey to measure the impact of the ban and to determine whether the additions in it are proving beneficial or not.
On the other hand, San Jose has started benefiting from its plastic bag ban. Implemented in 2012, the ban was immediately made applicable to all the retailers. The results of the litter survey conducted in the city revealed that in 2012, around 90 percent fewer bags were found in the storm drains of the city. Around 60 percent reduction was seen in plastic litter in the creeks and streets of the city.
Survey in Bay Area revealed that 50 percent of the trash in the storm drain was in the form of products made from plastic. Styrofoam, drink containers and paper amounted to 30 percent of the litter.
Stylish eco friendly shopping bags or plastic bags
Like the reaction to most of the bag bans in the country, this too was considered good by some and bad by others. People opposing the ban said that plastic bags form a small part of the litter, so they are not the real problem. The supporters, on the other hand were happy as they got a chance to replace the plastic bags with stylish eco friendly bags. They said that plastic bags were responsible for the litter problem in the city and had to be dealt with strictly.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_23670700/do-plastic-bag-bans-really-reduce-litter
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