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San Jose May Soon Ban Plastic Grocery Bags

CBS 5 CrimeWatch

SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / KCBS) ― Following San Francisco, London and Paris, it appears San Jose may be the next to employ a ban on plastic grocery bags.

San Jose City Councilman Kansen Chu is among those pushing for the proposal. Chu said staff has been directed to look into the best way to implement such a ban. The councilman foresees a plan that would first affect larger grocery chains.

"One million in gross sales per year, or a premises that occupies more than 10,000 square feet of footprint," Chu outlined the proposed guidelines.

Rather than banning the bags, the California Grocers Association recommends better education about what can be done to recycle or otherwise reuse plastic bags.

Councilman Chu agrees that more recycling would be a good thing, but worries that there is a larger problem with plastic grocery bags that can not be solved by recycling alone.

"The process requires considerable amounts of energy and expense," Chu pointed out.

San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags that could not be composted for larger grocery stores and pharmacies last November. Oakland has attempted to enact a similar ban, but their plans to do so are currently on hold.

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