San Francisco's Board of Supervisors isn't giving up.

At first, they wanted to implement a tax on plastic supermarket bags, but a 2006 state law prohibited that.  Now, they have put together an ordinance that would require grocery stores with annual sales of more than $2 million to offer only compostable plastic bags or reusable bags at the checkout.  They define compostable plastic bags as those "that contain no products derived from petroleum," and reusable bags as those "with handles specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and made either of cloth or other machine-washable fabric."  Supervisors say the ordinance is to cut down on the number of plastic bags going to landfills and getting into waste streams and waterways.

However, The Grocer's Association says the ordinance would actually be counter-productive to the city's recycling efforts by contaminating the recycling stream with compostable bags that people confused with conventional plastic bags.  The Association's president goes on to say that their voluntary efforts to reduce the number of plastic shopping bags is actually quite successful and the ordinance is premature and potentially damaging.

A hearing on the bill will take place in March and a scheduled effective date is July 1.