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Sacramento Considering Banning Stores From Using Plastic Bags

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - That familiar crinkle shoppers hear at the grocery store may become a thing of the past in Sacramento.

Officials are considering banning plastic bags, something dozens of cities have already done because the bags can't be easily recycled.

"We're trying to clean our air, we're trying to do a lot, but recycling and reusing products is definitely part of that," City Councilman Steve Cohn said Monday.

Concilman Cohn says not only do these bags pile up in land fills, they become urban ornaments you've seen littering trees, rivers and roadways. Cohn wants a plastic bag ban for larger grocery stores and including Walmarts and Targets.

"It would also apply to Rite Aid, Walgreens and those types of stores," he said.

Shoppers would have to bring their own bag or pay a small fee, about 10 cents, for a paper bag.

"Motivating the customer to come up with some alternatives, bring your own bag, or reuse some the bags that are provided, i think it's a great idea," Jesse Navaro said.

But shopper George Ransom says he doesn't want plastic bags to get the boot.

"I use them for, a lot of times, laundry bags and so forth," he said. "I like the idea of keeping plastic bags."

Cohn says mom and pop stores would be excluded from the ban with their smaller budgets. So far, he says, the bigger chain stores are giving the idea of Sacramento scrapping plastic bags a fair shake.

"I know Safeway for example actually endorsers our plan, and we are hoping the more people hear about it, the more they will support it," he said.

More than 50 cities in California already ban plastic bags. The City Council will discuss the potential plastic bag ban at its meeting Tuesday.

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