City leaders approved a ban on most plastic grocery bags after weeks of lobbying on both sides from environmentalists and a supermarket trade group. If Mayor Gavin Newsom signs the ban as expected, San Francisco would be the first U.S. city to adopt such a rule. The law, passed by a 10-1 vote, requires large markets and drugstores to give customers only a choice among bags made of paper that can be recycled, plastic that breaks down easily enough to be made into compost or reusable cloth. |