San Francisco Supervisors considering raising bag fee to 25 cents, ban on plastic produce bags

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco Supervisors are considering raising grocery bags from a dime to a quarter and banning plastic produce bags altogether.

"Whatever we can do to help the planet is what we should be trying to do," says Kayren Hudiburgh who is the owner of The Good Life Grocery store.

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The store has been a fixture here in Bernal Heights for almost three decades. Hudiburgh and her colleague Pauline Stanley tell us, raising the carry home bags from 10 cents to a quarter might encourage shoppers to bring their own bags.

The bill's author Supervisor Vaille Brown says other cities have seen a huge drop in the use of those bags.

"So that's one of the reasons that we're raising that. We're coming up where most people and most cities are charging 25 cents a bag."

The more problematic-- plastic produce bags. For now, the bags are still allowed but only for certain things like vegetables, meat and other selected foods.

"With our bulk items, it would be very difficult for our granolas and nuts and that sort of thing," says Pauline Stanley.

The proposed legislation would ban plastic produce bags period.

"I think it's doable but it'll take a little bit more help from the City. And help us just investigate what there is out there to us," says Hudiburgh.

Shoppers we spoke with offered some good ideas.

"As far as this goes, I actually wish that there was less plastic around and maybe encouraging the use of compostable ones-- or bringing your own bag, a paper bag," said shopper Scott Wilber.

No problem for Colleen Irwin who never uses plastic bags anyway. She had an armful of vegetables.

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"I forgot my bag today and I'm just going to carry these home."

But there may be another issue here if those bags are banned, says Mike Gaines whose pet dog is named Jack.

"Yeah-- to actually pick up my dog's mess. You know, that's one thing, and we actually use these too."

If the bill passes, the law will go into effect in the summer of next year.

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