Bagged

Apparently S.F. will stop using plastic. Bags, that is, not cards. Check out this LA Times article.

• "The city estimated that the plastic bag ban (which begins in six months) would save up to 450,000 gallons of crude oil and 1,400 million tons of debris every year."

• "In Ireland, the heavy tariff on plastic bags at the counters has seen a 90% reduction in usage."

Our reliance on plastic for packaging will become like our reliance on gas for transportation. It seems plastic use is the next public battle after emissions are addressed. But how can production of plastic decrease when such items are as much a staple of oil industries as gasoline?