San Mateo has voted to ban single-use plastic bags this week.

In light of a recent movement across the US to prohibit the free distribution of single-use plastic bags, more and more areas are becoming involved.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted this week to ban this practice at retail outlets, Half Moon Bay Review Reports.

On Tuesday the motion was passed unanimously and will see a phasing out of plastic bag use by retailers in unincorporated areas of the county by April 22nd 2013.

The move is hoped to help regulate waste, minimising environmental impacts and the number being sent to landfill each year.

Speaking after the meeting, the newspaper reports board president Adrienne Tissier, as saying: "We're going to devote time and energy over the coming months to reach out to consumers and businesses, educating them about the environmental benefits of the ordinance and giving them time to adjust."

The ordinance was co-sponsored by Ms Tissier along with fellow supervisor Carole Groom and has also received a glowing response from local residents and businesses already.

During the meeting plastic bags were blamed for clogging creeks, streams and littering the environment, demanding immediate attention from officials.

The board also approved an environmental impact report, which outlined how 24 peninsula cities can adopt their own ordinances, with Half Moon Bay one of the leading participating cities.

It found that 552 million plastic bags are used annually in the 24 cities and unincorporated area of San Mateo County.

From next April, shoppers requesting a paper bag would be required to pay a minimum of ten cents per bag up until December 31st 2014, and then 25 cents each from January 1st 2015.

Grocery retailers will still be permitted to distribute small plastic bags for vegetables, fruit, meats and pharmaceuticals, while restaurants and non-profit organisations with retail outlets are exempt from the regulations.

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