Here's the latest on the plastic bag ban that started in San Francisco! It seems other cities are looking into similar bans and now my local news shows my hometown of Encinitas is also voting on our own plastic bag ban ~ The idea was presented to the City Council by the San Diego chapter of Surfrider Foundation who gave the council a bag-ban petition signed by 1,500 people. Here's more on this story from the Union-Tribune by Terry Rodgers - July 10, 2008:

"City Council considers ban on plastic bags

Encinitas, a beach town where crosswalk signs show pedestrians carrying surfboards, could become the first city in San Diego County to ban single-use plastic bags

The bags often wind up as litter in the waves. They look like jellyfish and are mistakenly eaten by sea turtles and other marine life. About 6.4 million tons of litter enter the world's oceans each year, 90 percent of it plastic.

Encinitas City Councilwomen Maggie Houlihan and Teresa Barth announced their support for a plastic bag ban last month after the San Diego chapter of Surfrider Foundation gave the council a bag-ban petition signed by 1,500 people.

Scott Harrison, president of the San Diego chapter of Surfrider Foundation, said it was time for society to reduce its use of plastics that get used once and thrown away.

'Plastics are a big problem in the environment because they don't go away,' he said. 'The alternatives – reusable bags – are cheap and easy to use and can be a source of revenue for stores.'

Surfrider members say they chose Encinitas based on the expectation that the idea would quickly gain traction in the city of 63,000, which includes a contingent of environmental activists.

In California, the cities of San Francisco, Malibu and Manhattan Beach have banned single-use plastic bags.

'I'd be proud,' said Houlihan, referring to the possibility that her city could become a trendsetter for the county's 17 other cities."