Los Angeles County Targets Plastic Bags

LOS ANGELES -- Convenience stores in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County may have to opt for paper now that the county Board of Supervisors took the first step to ban plastic bags. The ban will also affect supermarkets, pharmacies and drug stores.

On Nov. 16, the board voted on a preliminary measure to ban plastic bags by a 3-to-1 tally. The final ordinance will be come up for a vote next week, reported CNN. The news outlet also reported that one supervisor in favor of the ban was absent from this week's meeting, so the final ordinance could be adopted by a 4-to-1 vote.

According to the board's agenda, the ordinance would also require stores that provide recyclable paper carryout bags to charge 10 cents per bag to a customer. If approved, the ban and 10-cent charge will go into effect July 2011 for certain affected stores and January 2012 for all others.

In addition, according to the board, the director of public works would be in charge of working with all cities in Los Angeles County and local governments to encourage the adoption of similar ordinances. The director of public works would also be tasked with monitoring any new developments on this issue at the state level.