Seattle to begin charging fee on shopping bags

SEATTLE Seattle’s city council approved a 20-cent charge for plastic and paper bags at retail stores in a 6-1 vote Monday. The council also voted unanimously to ban some plastic foam containers.

City officials estimate that Seattleites use 360 million paper and plastic bags each year, The Seattle Times reported.

The two votes follow bans on plastic bags that passed in San Francisco and Los Angeles.