Coalition fights San Francisco bag ban

SAN FRANCISCO (March 1, 10:50 a.m. ET) — As promised, the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco to invalidate its plastic bag ban.

The lawsuit contends that the city passed the ordinance despite its refusal to prepare an Environmental Impact Report, which is required by the California Supreme Court before a ban can be enacted if a city has more residents than the city of Manhattan Beach.

San Francisco has a population of over 805,000, approximately 24 times larger than Manhattan Beach's population of 33,000.

Further, the ordinance bans plastic bags at restaurants, which the coalition's counsel Stephen Joseph says violates a state statute. He said the California Retail Food Code preempts and prohibits city and county bans of plastic bags at restaurants.

Based on these two causes of action, the coalition seeks to invalidate the bag ban and have it repealed in its entirety.

San Francisco was the first city in the country to ban plastic bags at grocery stores and drug stores back in 2007. In February, city officials expanded the bag ban to restaurants, gift shops, hardware stores, boutiques and other retailers.

That legislation forces shoppers to pay 10 cents per paper bag, a profit that goes to the store. It is intended to go into effect for retail stores in October and food establishments in July 2013.

The suit also claims that San Francisco's uniquely high influx of tourists will not carry around reusable bags and the city will be flooded with “underused, non-recyclable and environmental unfriendly reusable bags” thrown away in hotel rooms.