Grocers, San Francisco at Odds Over Bags

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Grocers Association here and the city of San Francisco bumped heads last week, with the city demanding grocers provide data on their progress in reducing plastic-bag use by the weekend and the association saying it will provide the information within two weeks. City officials also said they felt deceived by passage in the legislature last summer of a recycling bill that prohibits local bag audits or taxes on bags, charging CGA had helped get the bill passed. CGA executives could not be reached for comment Friday. The controversies stem from a 2005 proposal by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to put a 17-cent tax on plastic bags. In a compromise to head off that proposal, supermarket operators agreed on a voluntary basis to reduce plastic bag usage by 10 million; to provide an accounting of bag use; to introduce on-site recycling; and to sell reusable bags at stores in the city. However, the legislature's bill requires every retail store over 10,000 square feet that includes a pharmacy to track the number of plastic bags they recycle over a three-year period but prohibits local audits or taxes. -- Elliot Zwiebach