BAN ON PLASTIC BAGS

San Francisco is debating whether to extend the ban to cancel plastic bags to include all retailers, including bookshops, clothes shops and department stores, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The California Legislature currently is debating a statewide barring of disposable plastic bags and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his support of the bill.

Current San Francisco law requires large supermarkets, such as Safeway, and chemist chains, such as Walgreens, to give customers only three types of bags at checkout: compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags and reusable bags. Single-use disposable bags are banned completely.