SEATTLE (AP) ? Seattle officials are expected to vote to ban plastic bags.
The vote by the city council is expected at a meeting Monday. The ordinance would banish single-use, carryout bags in groceries and other retail stores.
Paper bags would cost a nickel ? to encourage the use of reusable bags.
The seattlepi.com (http://is.gd/nBjeit) reports seven of nine council members are sponsoring the bill.
The city’s residents use 292 million plastic bags a year. The ban is expected to reduce pollution, free up landfill space and improve the environment.
In 2008, the council voted to charge a 20-cent fee on paper and plastic bags. The plastics industry spent $1.4 million backing a referendum to overturn it, and voters defeated the fee in 2009.
