Los Angeles City Council votes to ban plastic bags

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles became the biggest city in the country to ban free plastic bags in grocery stores after following a city council City Council vote Tuesday cq.

The 9-1 vote supports a ban that will take effect Jan. 1for large stores, City News Service reported. Under the law, shoppers will have to tote their own bags, or pay 10 cents each for paper bags.

About $2 million a year is spent to clean up plastic-bag litter in Los Angeles. Sanitation authorities estimate more than228,000 bags are distributed in the city every hour.

The city plans to hand out 1 million reusable bags in low-income areas. The ban would apply to stores such as convenience stores, supermarkets and large retailers, such as Wal-Mart.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 06/27/2013

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