County to study plastic bag options

Los Angeles County officials agreed Tuesday to consider a range of options -- including an outright ban -- for dealing with the ubiquitous plastic grocery bags that can choke landfills, litter roadways, clog storm drains and kill marine life.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously directed the Department of Public Works to study the issue and report back in 90 days.

In addition to a ban, county officials will examine other options, such as establishing programs that encourage customers to buy reusable sacks or return plastic bags to the store.

The supervisors also asked officials to look at possibly coordinating with cities such as Malibu and Santa Monica. And they asked their legal counsel, Raymond G. Fortner Jr., to find out whether a plastic bag policy would affect only unincorporated parts of the county or all of it, including the city of Los Angeles.

The supervisors’ action comes on the heels of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors’ landmark decision last month to ban the common carryout plastic bag at supermarket chains with more than $2 million in annual sales and other retailers with more than one location.

San Francisco will require those stores to use compostable -- or biodegradable -- plastic bags, which are typically made of cornstarch. Stores are given six months to a year to comply, and could face fines of up to $500 if they fail.

Though more environmentally friendly, compostable bags are more expensive to produce.

Although the measure passed by Los Angeles County supervisors refers to San Francisco’s ban, environmental experts have said that the Los Angeles area does not have enough composting facilities to handle biodegradable plastic bags, which require treatment in specific conditions to decompose.

The supervisors acknowledged that Los Angeles County probably would have to look for a different answer. “We can’t just follow San Francisco,” said Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, one of the motion’s co-sponsors. “But we can’t bury our heads in the sand and say everything’s great either.”

Jennifer Forkish, director of local government relations in Southern California for the California Grocers Assn., asked the supervisors to postpone their vote, saying it was too early to know the effects of San Francisco’s ban.

The grocers group opposed the action of San Francisco.

San Francisco’s ban is believed to be first of its kind in the country, and it drew renewed attention to the issue of plastic bag waste. The bags are made of petroleum, virtually never fully decompose and are said to kill about 100,000 marine animals a year.

Californians use an estimated 19 billion plastic bags a year; Los Angeles County residents probably go through about 6 billion bags a year, according to industry and environmental advocacy groups.

On Tuesday, Supervisor Mike Antonovich also asked the Public Works Department to look at how compostable bags would affect the city of Los Angeles’ plastic bag recycling program.

Experts have said compostable plastic that ends up being recycled weakens regular recycled plastic, meaning that the recycled plastic, which is often used to make benches, piers and backyard decks, would have to be thrown out.

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charles.proctor@latimes.com