Plastic Bag Ban in Some County Areas Starts Today

Palos Verdes shoppers who might venture to Los Angeles County's unincorporated communities soon will see no plastic bags at grocery stores or shopping centers in those areas. 

A ban on plastic bags in unincorporated areas of the county goes into effect Friday.

Some nearby communities will be part of the ban (see accompanying list and map under photo.)

The ban, instituted in November, aims to cut in half the number of plastic bags that end up in landfills, river beds and other areas of the county, harming the environment.

Officials plan to gradually phase in the ban, which will be effective at big grocery store chains Friday and then expand to cover every store subject to the ordinance by January.

The ban will not apply to restaurant carryout operations or food trucks. Shoppers in the affected areas will have to pay 10 cents for a recyclable paper bag, but customers who receive food stamps will get a paper bag for free.

The first citywide single-use plastic bag ban was passed in San Francisco four years ago, and now a handful of California cities have since prohibited using plastic bags, such as Santa Monica, Malibu, Palo Alto and Fairfax.

City News Service contributed to this report.