Bagging Plastic

By Laura A. Locke

The days of the ubiquitous plastic bag are numbered--at least in San Francisco. With residents each year using upwards of 50 million of the flimsy throwaways, which routinely clog sewer drains and kill marine life, city officials last week struck a deal with grocery chains to give shoppers 10 million fewer bags by the end of 2006. And how did the city get grocers to agree to kick in $100,000 for the program? By first proposing a tax of 17-c- a bag.