Fort Bragg is cutting down on plastic bags as part of wider plans.

Fort Bragg, California is preparing to cut down on plastic bag usage as part of wider plans in the Mendocino County area.

As of December 10th, six large stores will no longer provide plastic carry-out bags, in a bid to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags.

Fort Bragg Advocate News reports that supermarkets and large drug stores will be prohibited from providing plastic bags and the checkout and instead will offer paper bags for a nominal charge.

However, smaller bags for produce, bread and prescriptions are still allowed to be made from plastic.

Speaking to the newspaper, Fort Bragg's vice mayor Meg Courtney explained that she was very much in favour of the ordinance.

"Our goal is to encourage customers to bring their own reusable shopping bags. If people want a paper bag, they should pay the actual cost to the store for that bag, rather than making the store cover it in the prices that all of us pay for merchandise," she said.

Larger stores such as Safeway, Harvest Market, Purity, Rite Aid and CVS will be among the first to implement the ban on plastic bags, with many having already brought in similar rules in-house.

Other stores in Fort Bragg now have a year to eliminate single-use plastic bags and embrace more sustainable alternatives such as paper bags and cotton bags.

By phasing the changes in, Ms Courtney revealed that it would help raise awareness and ensure the success of the programme long term.

"The city council's plan is to get the public accustomed to bringing their own bags to the supermarkets and drug stores first, which should make the transition easier for small stores a year later," she went on to say.

Fort Braggs plan follows dozens of other cities and counties in California and the US, which has been embracing similar restrictions.

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