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SAN FRANCISCO -- Paper or plastic? Neither. The bagging options for store clerks could be severely limited after Wednesday's vote in the California State Assembly to not only ban plastic bags from pharmacies, groceries, convenience stores and liquor stores, but also to make retailers charge at least a nickel for paper bags -- which must include recyclable content. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article offers information on the city of San Francisco, California banning the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags by supermarkets, drug stores and retail stores. according to Environmental Protection Agency, the production of paper bags creates more air and water pollution as compared to plastic bags. It was also found that fewer plastic bags have been recycled in comparison with paper bags. It is estimated that annual global usage of plastic bags ranges from about 100 billion to 1 trillion.

Los Angeles County supervisors approved a measure on Tuesday that bars stores in the unincorporated parts of the county from handing out single-use plastic bags. An estimated 1.1. million people live in those areas. The ordinance, which does not include Los Angeles and other cities in the county, also requires stores to charge 10 cents for each paper bag given to customers. It goes into effect next year. The California cities of Fairfax, Malibu, Palo Alto and San Francisco have also enacted such bans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A proposed 20-cent fee on plastic and paper bags at many retail stores in this city was headed for defeat in a voter referendum here late Tuesday. The proposal, which was intended to reduce pollution by encouraging reusable bags, was rejected as the debate over shopping bags has become prominent in several cities and states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cashier's chorus has long fallen on deaf ears among the sustainability set here. Paper or plastic? ''Neither'' is of course the greenest answer. Soon, however, ''neither'' may be the cheapest answer, too. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SEATTLE -- The City Council here voted unanimously on Monday to ban plastic grocery bags and charge a 5-cent fee on paper bags -- and this time city leaders hope the ban actually takes effect. Three years ago, Seattle city officials became the first in the nation to approve a fee on paper and plastic bags, instituting a charge of 20 cents for each bag provided by many retail stores. The idea was to create a financial incentive to reduce pollution: the fee was supposed to prompt people to bring reusable bags with them to shop. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three years ago, San Francisco was the first city in the country to ban the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag, but it was quickly followed by Palo Alto and Oakland. These cities, and the Bay Area generally, were at the forefront of the movement to keep single-use, filmy carry-out bags out of landfills, out of the bay and out of the innards of marine mammals. But now cities are reconsidering, in part because of lawsuits filed by opponents, but also because too many shoppers in San Francisco and Palo Alto simply shifted their carry-out purchases to paper sacks, which have environmental costs of their own. Plastic bags are still a target, but the bulls-eye is now widening to cover paper bags, too. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In San Francisco, a city that has banned plastic shopping bags, there is a new target: paper. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced legislation intended to encourage customers to use their own bags to reduce the number of bags provided at checkout. The ordinance, if passed, would require retailers to offer a 10-cent rebate to customers who use reusable sacks. If the stores fail to comply, they could face fines of $100 to $500. Mr. Mirkarimi said the legislation would help save a chunk of the 14 million trees chopped down each year to make paper bags. The ordinance would affect some 135 large grocery stores and pharmacies within city limits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Plastic, especially in the form of nonbiodegradable bags, has become a target of the environmentally conscious. From San Francisco to South Africa, cities have outlawed, taxed or otherwise restricted plastic bags, even here in the developing world where immediate needs, like jobs, often outweigh nobler aims. Just last month New Delhi passed a preliminary ban imposing a five-year jail term or a 100,000-rupee fine, about $2,055, on anyone caught carrying or handing out plastic bags. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the flooding in southern Ukraine caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River in Kherson amid the Russian invasion. It shows resident's plea for help as they are stranded in their houses, as well as the evacuation and displacement of people due to the flooding. Difficulties facing southern Ukraine include long-term housing and supply of drinking water and food. It also informs about the rescue efforts of a Ukrainian special forces unit.

The article highlights North Korea's provocative act of launching balloons with trash into South Korea, sparking tensions and prompting threats of retaliation, reviving a Cold War-era tactic amidst a history of psychological warfare between the two Koreas.

The article focuses on North Korea's resumption of dumping trash across the border into South Korea as a form of showing displeasure, with the South Korean military discovering balloons carrying garbage across the Demilitarized Zone.

The article focuses on the author's reflections on the state of the world, particularly the degradation of the environment due to human activity, symbolized by the accumulation of trash in New York City streets, prompting the author to coin the term "Obscene Era".

The article reports that "Plastic is not going anywhere anytime soon," said AJex Dabagh, who two years ago started the company aNYbag, its name a play on the ubiquity of plastic bags and an ode to his hometown, New York City. In kitchens the world over, often there is a plastic bag stuffed with other plastic bags. In Mr. Dabagh's factory in Chelsea, totes are woven from plastic bags.

Come next Tuesday, in a move flagrantly timed to coincide with Earth Day, the Whole Foods supermarket chain will no longer offer its customers the plastic bag option. Seeing that ''it can take more than 1,000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill'' and that ''in the U.S. alone, about 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year,'' the company said it could not in good conscience contribute to the crisis. Bravo. Now tell me this: What am I supposed to line my garbage cans with? I always use plastic supermarket bags, and the Whole Foods ones were by far my favorites -- roomy and springy enough to hold a lot of sodden waste without fear of breakage, always a plus when one is disposing of, say, fish skins or cat litter. So if I have to buy plastic bags by the box, that's better for the environment how? Forget about paper bags for this purpose. When we were growing up in the Bronx, my older brother recently reminded me, we lined our garbage can with newspapers, a solution satisfactory to none but the roaches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

These are photographs of plastic bags that I pulled from trees and shrubs in the woods near my home in New Jersey. To make these pictures -- photograms -- I took the bags into my darkroom and gently dropped them between my enlarger's lens and a piece of light-sensitive paper. I then illuminated the scene with a flash of light for less than a second. The resulting images trace the objects gliding in the air moments before they come to rest. Like Earth Day, they are for me a prompt to reflect on [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

''We jokingly call it the trash in the trees,'' Richard Donnelly said of his family's light installation in Burlington, Vt. ''During the day, it looks like someone went crazy and made a bunch of bird feeders from plastic milk jugs. But at night, it is really lovely.'' Mr. Donnelly, a strategic planner at an organization called Efficiency Vermont and one of many readers who submitted pictures of holiday lighting to NYTimes.com, said it was a project with a purpose: ''Winters are long and cold and dark up here, and we wanted something beautiful we could look at all winter, not just during the holidays.'' Milk jugs in the recycling bin were the inspiration, and after sending a ''we want your jugs'' e-mail message to friends, amassing a cache of milk and apple cider jugs and devising a hook system involving unwound paper clips, his project was complete. For next year, he said, ''I was thinking about stepping it up a level and trying the same idea with plastic grocery bags.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Last summer, city officials here became the first in the nation to approve a fee on paper and plastic shopping bags in many retail stores. The 20-cent charge was intended to reduce pollution by encouraging reusable bags. But a petition drive financed by the plastic-bag industry delayed the plan. Now a far broader segment of Seattle's bag carriers -- its voters -- will decide the matter in an election in August. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents information on the Yard Bag Chute, a polypropylene and plastic insert that fits inside standard paper leaf bags, designed by Hammond, Indiana-based Bart Mulle.

Reports that the Wichita, Kansas police acquired a package that could be connected to the hunt for a serial killer known as B.T.K., who had been silent for almost 25 years before sending letters to news organizations earlier in 2004. White plastic bag containing a driver's license with the photograph and name of a victim.

Focuses on the decrease in the quarterly profits of United States-based Clorox Co. due to charges related to the shutdown of a plastic bag factory. Percentage of the decrease in income; Maintenance of a full-year profit outlook.

The article focuses on Sho Shibuya, a graphic designer, moved from Tokyo, Japan to New York in 2011 noticing plastic bags and mentions that single-use plastic carryout bags banned in New York State.

The article looks at the leftward shift of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, dubbed as the Cynthia effect, following the candidacy of Cynthia Nixon for the gubernatorial post that is endorsed by the progressive Working Family Party. It discusses changes to Cuomo's position on matters including marijuana legalization, use of plastic bags, public housing, political alliance, voting rights of felons on parole, and teacher evaluation as part of education reform.

The article discusses the campaign "Avoid the shame. Bring a reusable bag" by store East West Market in Vancouver, British Columbia, to encourage shoppers to avoid the use of plastic bags and mentions an announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reduce plastic pollution by 2021.

The article offers information on various topics including the grocery and cafe run by chef Suzanne Dumaine, the approach by Hotel Chocolat to increase the amount of cholocate in its confections and the use of reusable stasher bags as an alternative to disposable zipper-locked bags.

The article reports on the statewide ban on single-use plastic bags from retail sales in New York which will be implemented in March 2020, highlighting the concern of residents about its impact on their routines.

The article provides information on the trips of television actor Gabrielle Union and highlights her travel tips to carry items including allergy medicines, electronics, and books in zip-lock bags.

The article presents an overview of the strategies used by the government of Kenya to control the problems related to use of plastic bags and it's effects on the world.

The article reports on the enforcement of a new rule in Kenya that bans the selling and importation of plastic bags due to its effects in oceans and marine life.

The article reports on the measures taken by New York City government to address the problem posed by plastics by letting shoppers bring their own reusable bags to stores.

The article reports on the use of patented coated-aluminum receptacles with 32-gallon plastic bags inside to replace drums and plastic bins in the Central Park in New York City.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including one regarding the mass shooting at a gay nightclub located in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016, "PayPal Founder Is Said to Bankroll Hulk Hogan Suit Against Gawker," in the May 25, 2016 issue, and "City's Fee on Plastic Bags Faces Scrutiny in Albany," in the June 8, 2016 issue.

The article reports that New York city policy to impose fee on plastic bags has been delayed by the State Assembly and the City Council.

The author discusses the passage of a state legislation in Albany, New York sponsored by New York State Senate member Simcha Felder which aims to fine individuals with 5-cent if caught using disposable plastic shopping bags.

The article reports that in Arizona a bill proposed that bans local limits on the use of plastic bags.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "More Deportations Follow Minor Crimes, Data Shows" in the April 7, 2014 issue, "Applications Fall, Admission Rate Rises as Cooper Union Charges Tuition" in the April 5, 2014 issue and "Ten Cents a Bag? That's About Right" in the April 8, 2014 issue.

The article offers news briefs in the U.S. on topics regarding the initial approval of Los Angeles City Council to an ordinance that ban stores from providing single-use plastic bags to customers, the announcement that Judith A. Salerno is the new president and chief executive of Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity, and the collaboration of edX and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to offer online courses.

The article reports on the results of a study by neonatal care specialist Waldemar A. Carlo which revealed that regular plastic bags can be used to keep premature babies warm and prevent their body temperature from dropping dangerously.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to the aticle "Is It Time to Bag the Plastic?" in the May 19, 2013 issue.

Two bomb blasts killed 11 people in two cities on Monday night, an Iraqi official said. The first bomb, hidden in a plastic bag, exploded outside a pet store in Baquba, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. The police said 5 people were killed and 3 were wounded. An hour later in Hilla, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, 6 people were killed and 26 were wounded when a minibus blew up as it pulled up to a soccer field, the police said. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Murray Guy 453 West 17th Street, Chelsea [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artist intended it to be a display of his love for the city: white plastic bags stamped with the ''I NY'' logo lighted from within and glowing moonlike from lampposts and trees in Brooklyn and beyond. Almost immediately, the installation attracted attention, though probably not the kind the artist, Takeshi Miyakawa, expected. The police bomb squad was called and Mr. Miyakawa, 50, was arrested early Saturday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

''WE see it as an opportunity to experiment with art and products,'' Consuelo Castiglioni, Marni's designer, says about the brand's Edition collaborations. Past projects were a series of watercolor sketches by Kim Gordon and painted plastic bags by Claude Caillol. Now Ms. Castiglioni has tapped Brian Rea, an illustrator whose whimsical line drawings accompany the Modern Love column in this section each Sunday. ''When I came across Rea's work, I was captured by his vision,'' she said. Mr. Rea's drawings for Marni, which appear on tote bags and T-shirts, depict distinctive melancholy-magical scenes: two sullen teenagers share a couch with a friendly therapistlike monster; a little girl traveling in the desert encounters two lost penguins; and here, an imaginary giant drops down on a good read. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Explosives hidden in a plastic bag were detonated at the wedding of a policeman about 40 miles south of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 7 people and wounding 15, according to a local security official. The policeman's brother was among the dead, but few other details were immediately available. The blast occurred around 9:30 p.m. in the predominately Sunni village of Musayyib. The blast went off before a significant number of people had arrived at the wedding, according to the security official. It was unclear who was behind the attack. Policemen and soldiers are often the targets of insurgents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We had a bit of a situation in the nest this afternoon. For more than an hour, Violet, the red-tailed hawk who is sitting on three eggs on the 12th-floor ledge outside the office of the president of New York University, had a piece of plastic bag looped around her neck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STANFORD, Calif. -- As he pedaled through campus on a sunny morning last week, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck explained the two clear plastic bags covering his bike seat. At a cradle of technological ingenuity, Luck had found a low-tech solution for shielding his posterior from the morning dew. ''Bookstore bags work the best,'' he said, shrugging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One by one, Domanick Munoz pulled bloody and battered rooster bodies out of a pile of feathers, claws and beaks. The birds that were still gasping for life he put out of their misery, plunging a syringe of drugs into their gouged and lacerated bellies. Animal-cruelty officers with Dallas Animal Services took those that were already dead and gingerly placed them into large, black plastic garbage bags. Nearby, Sgt. Alfred Nunez of the Dallas police surveyed abandoned cars, empty beer bottles, boxes of razor blades, syringes, liquor bottles, marijuana and dozens of cages and makeshift coops with roosters inside. ''This is one huge mess,'' he said over the cacophony of crowing birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEVE MILLER is justifiably proud of the manicured grounds around his stately stucco home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. So he was nonplussed last year when he discovered that someone had been tossing plastic bags of dog excrement into the sculptured shrubs around a palm tree in his front yard. ''It was a pile of at least 10 bags,'' said Mr. Miller, 55, who owned a dance costume business in Bristol, Pa., before retiring to Florida in 2005. ''I had my suspicions, but wanted to find out for sure which one of my neighbors was doing it.'' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco banned the use of city money to buy bottled water for municipal employees. For the mayor, it was a point of principle: the local tap water, direct from Yosemite National Park, is among the best anywhere, and in a town where even plastic bags are regulated, water delivered in plastic dispensers appeared to be an unseemly use of resources. Nearly every city department and agency duly kicked the habit, with one exception: the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The State Senate rejected a bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags after a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice. The bill, which failed late Tuesday, would have been the first statewide ban, although a few California cities already prohibit their use. Republicans and some Democrats opposed it, saying it would add an extra burden on consumers and businesses at a time when many are struggling financially. The bill's main opponent, the American Chemistry Council, based in Virginia, spent millions in lobbying fees and on advertising attacking the measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]