SF's 10 Cent Restaurant Take-Out Bag Ordinance - Another Stupid Law from Your City Government

The San Francisco city government is going to regret this...

Starting this Tuesday, October 1, 2013, a city ordinance will now require all food establishments to stop giving out plastic bags, and all delivery and take-out bags will cost a minimum of 10 cents each.

Due to the end of plastic bags, food establishments can only give out: paper bags with a minimum 40% post recycled user content (most commonly used), compostable plastic bag, or a washable checkout bag that can be used more than 125 times (e.g. cloth bag).

But there are a few exceptions that has no ten cent charge that I'll highlight: Bags for things like bulk foods, candy, and to serve popcorn are exempt.  A bag used to contain seafood, meat, and frozen items.  A plastic bag is acceptable to seal items to prevent damage, mostly liquid items like soups and curries.  Lastly, there is no fee if you receive a doggy bag for your leftover food.

It Hurts Businesses
What does this mean for our city's restaurant establishments?  For those that has mostly dine-in patrons, the law won't impact them as badly because as I stated before, a doggy bag for leftovers is free.

But for those whose business is a majority of take-out, delivery, owns a bakery, or a fast food establishment, this bag law will be a problem.  It casts a negative aspect that every time a patron comes to order a meal, they will be forced to surrender an extra ten cents, by law, just so they can bring it in their office or bring it home to feed their family.

I'm predicting that if the ten cent bag law casts huge negative attention, people will stop going to establishments that exclusively depends on giving customers a bag to take their food items, baked goods, and their burger.  And what does that mean to everybody?  Businesses will lose their loyal customers, businesses will lose profits, the city and state will have less tax revenue to receive, and with less tax money coming in, less money can be spent by the government for the services used by the public.

Fast Food Restaurants Will Take a Hit
Take a look at McDonalds and Burger King, a majority of their restaurant patrons take it to-go.  I feel a lot of patrons will be grumpy that they are forced with the choice of eating-in (if they have the time), bringing their own bag which will then get all greasy and sticky, or fork over the ten cents in the name of greedy city government stupidvisors.

The 10 Cent Bag Law when comparing a Restaurant versus Grocery Store
When you compare food establishments versus grocery stores, there's a big difference with the 10 cent bag law.  At least when you buy groceries, bringing your own bag is fine because the products you buy are unlikely going to leak or stink up your bag.  But if you buy hot food items from a restaurant, bringing your own bag is a horrible idea because the smell of the food might stay into the fabrics, it might leak and make a greasy or sticky mess, and in the long run, reusable bags means after a small amount of use, people will likely throw it away and not wash it.

Akit's Opinions
I don't like the idea of forcing a 10 cent bag law on food establishments.  Restaurants that heavily depend on deliveries and take-out will get hurt the most.  Some of you might say it's just ten cents, but for someone like me who doesn't always have money to burn, I might as well get my take-out dinners from Daly City since I work not far at SF State.

I am a Terrible Human Being - I Paid for Paper Grocery Bags

Remember that time I said I hated San Francisco's new paper bag law that banned plastic bags, and forces all customers to pay ten cents for each paper bag when checking-out?

Since October 1, 2012, I've been a good puppy, obeying my government masters by bringing my own reusable grocery bags to the store.

Bad Akit!  Bad!

Now it's June 2nd, 2013 (eight months later) and I've been a bad dog; I pooped on the Mayor Ed Lee's carpet and got hit with a newspaper.

I finally had to cave in and purchase not just one... but three paper grocery bags at ten cents a piece.  I usually have tons of bags in my trunk, but I emptied my trunk so I can pick-up my co-workers from the airport, and they have a lot of luggage.

Mother Nature is pissed and it looks like I'm going to hell.

Hello, Board of Supervisors? I think your 10 cent bag fee is stupid.

Now that I have three paper bags that I can't return to get back my 30 cents, what am I going to do with them?  I could punch a few holes and put a frowny face on it... perfect!  I'll wear it at the next Board of Supervisors meeting.

Paper bag head photo by Mark Sebastian, using a Creative Commons License.

Creative Ways to Flout SF's 10 Cent Shopping Checkout Bag Law

As I feel the 10 cent retail checkout bag is totally evil and it gained some notoriety on SFist, I was thinking of ways that storekeepers and citizens can give the finger to the city by beating the law their own way.

If you recall the so-called "Happy Meal Toy Ban" that's being enforced by the city, the law stated that a toy cannot be given to free for kids meals if it doesn't meet strict nutritional requirements.  The fast food establishments decided to say "shove it [up your ass]" to the city government by still giving out the toys, with a small ten cent charge for the toy when a meal is purchased.  Basically, the law was practically useless.

When I wrote the blog entry about the toy ban, I said that charging the toy item as a separate fee is very legal.  If the city said no hash browns could be given for free in your meal, the store just reduces the meal by a dollar, and charges a side hash brown as a separate item for a dollar, therefore the cost difference is the same and the law is useless.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and will not be held legally responsible if you get you caught by city officials.  You are responsible for your own actions.  Consult with legal council before you take-on any of the "suggestions" I've provided.

Store owners - How to flout SF's 10 cent bag law or flick-off the city government:

1. If you have the work force, go into the store parking lots and give away free grocery bags as a "random prize" for being a loyal customer.
2. If you go to fairs, they always have those spin wheels for people to win little prizes like flashlights; that's all perfectly legal, so why not just spin the wheel at a grocery store and every space is a prize of a free shopping bag?
3. Instead of recycling those boxes you dump out after shipments, why not give customers a free box?  It's not a bag, it's a box!
4. Give out coupons to your customers or use a store loyalty card: Ten cents off your grocery bill for every visit at the register (just don't mention the word "bag" on the promo). 
5. Encourage people to recycle their cans: Install a recycling machine, for every two cans, you get a paper bag.
6. Have a non-employee or a homeless dude stand outside the store and sell bags for a nickel, or install an old newspaper machine and sell them for a nickel.
7. Make the 10 cent fee a "feel good" proposition: Every bag we sell goes to raising enough money to get the ban the 10 cent law on the ballot.  Or if you want to get cute: Get a bag, we'll donate 10 cents to AIDS research (bring your own bag, and you don't like AIDS research?)
8. Open a Speakeasy on shopping bags, gotta know the secret knock at the customer service counter and they'll sneak a bag from under the counter.
9. During the holidays, do "free gift wrapping" but it also comes with a bow that doubles as a handle.
10. For large items, just get those adhesive stick-on handles.  Makes carrying items easier and there's no 10 cent fee.
11. Give out a punch card (or use one of those punch-card phone apps): For every ten bags you purchase, you get $1 store credit.

Daly City, I still love your free bags.

Citizens: How to make the 10 cent bag law a big joke:

1. Go shop on state or federal property and don't pay the fee (I'm buying my postcards at Hyde Street Pier, National Park Service property).  Just like the fois gras ban was limited to state law, people could go to Native American reservations and federal property for their fix as it's legal.
2. Go shop outside of city/county lines.  Mayor Ed Lee will wonder why there's a drop in local sales tax money.
3. Pay the cashier exact change for the products, but charge the 10 cents on your credit card.
4. Bring a garbage bag to the check-out line.  Don't worry, it's a Hefty!
5. As per Twitter user WagonMoster: "I have closet full of plastic shopping bags, I'm now going to use those when I shop, just so I can get dirty looks.
6. Buy dirty videos and magazines, but refuse to pay for the bag.  Carry them around with you while you get stared upon for being a pervert, but explain to people that you refuse to pay the 10 cent bag fee, and maybe get some pity while they give you a newspaper to wrap that stuff up.

No more grocery store bags? This has gone too far

I need to admit to an error; as Brittney Gilbert pointed out, it was not a ban on paper bags, it's a ordinance to have all stores give a small credit to shoppers who bring their own. While I admit to this mistake, I am not editing the portion below; I feel that it is important to show that there is the possibility the city may try to ban paper bags in the future, but encouraging stores to give a credit is the first step in a possible ban.

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There's nothing worse than hearing in the Chronicle that San Francisco's Board of Supervisors wants to go further in their banning of free bags being handed out at grocery stores, major drugstores, and other places that makes over a certain limit in profits per year.

Sure, banning plastic bags is a good idea because they cause a lot of harm when thrown away; but it has been demonstrated that when grocery stores collect used plastic bags, they can be used to make helpful items like benches. There's a bench made out of recycled plastic shopping bags at the Lucky supermarket at Lakeshore Plaza at the left entrance.

There's the new "green" plastic bags that claim to be recyclable and can be thrown in compost; but the bags sure feel like just regular plastic bags, but are sometimes not compatible with specific policies about recycling, depending on which city or county you live in.

While San Francisco has the longest list of items that can be recycled or composted, like any plastic item with a numbered symbol and even plastic forks; plastic bags are truly the gray zone of what can be recycled/composted or not, and neither has the city really made it clear to us what is OK and what is not. I would assume that the bags made from corn are OK to compost, but even I'm confused.

But how about now? Supervisor Ross wants to ban paper bags? How low can this city really go? How can you ban the essential item that helps us carry multiple items around on the bus or up the long flight of stairs? Do you expect every citizen of this city to carry a reusable bag in their pocket wherever they go, even in situations where you forgot to get the groceries, and now you have to carry it all in your hands or buy a $2 sack? At least paper bags are accepted everywhere to be recycled and they can always be re-used for helpful purposes, from making textbook covers to neatly packing newspaper for recycling (this was an old policy by the garbage company when we all received little blue bins).

In one point of view, if the city enforced a no-bag policy at the places that currently are using the no plastic bag rule, it may be considered the death of supermarkets, pharmacies, and drug stores. It may be a boon for the little markets like in Chinatown where the red colored bag is standard (maybe good luck?), but don't expect a happy corporation to stay in our city, or local citizens grumpy enough that now they have to pick-up their dog poop in a paper bag that may leak.

I have to ask myself, isn't there more important things the city should handle than debating over what type of bag we should be using for shopping? Muni is still not fixed, we've got a lame duck mayor, and surely the homeless problem is getting worse.

It's time to start shopping in Daly City; home to the words "paper or plastic" and styrofoam. Hell, my workplace is less than a mile from the border and just an extra half-mile to Westlake.

The sorting garbage law absurdity of San Francisco - Makes me want to move to Daly City

Remember the slogans I posted here a year ago? Here's why I would move to Daly City:

• "We still use plastic bags and styrofoam boxes."
• "Lower sales tax rate and we've got TARGET!"

We can add to the list for literally any city other than San Francisco: "at least I don't have to sort my trash without a garbage company rat reporting to the city government." (News stories at SFist and Chronicle).

Can I just say, I really hate the way our city operates. We now have this new law that if we don't sort our trash correctly, we will get fined. What the hell is this bullshit? Why does this city need to be some kind of "nanny state?"

Sure, I'm proud this city has the highest recycling rate in the country as it sets a good example for other cities and towns to do the same, but now making it a law to tell people to do it or be fined with $100 fines is total crap.

So like... what's the standard to get a damn citation?

• Finding one piece of paper in a garbage bin full of legitimate trash in the black bin?
• Finding a non-greasy pizza box in the compost bin?
• Finding a plastic fork in the garbage bin?
  

What happens if your neighbor wants to seek revenge or some random person on the street dumps the wrong items in the trash? Is this city going to have to buy every citizen a padlock to secure their three garbage bins?

Isn't torturing us citizens with the ban on styrofoam and plastic bags at the grocery store enough? Sheesh.