support. as you know san francisco was the first u.s. city to ban plastic check out bags over four years ago. that ban only applied to supermarkets and to pharmacy chains, and the ordinance helped to reduce plastic bag litter in san francisco as you heard by 18% which was a great victory. it also reduced contamination in our collective recyclables and compost. although we do take great pride in being the first city to have banned plastic bags in the u.s. and are pleased with the impact that the original ordinance made, plastic bags continue to be a problem in san francisco. i would like to highlight a couple of those concerns. plastic bags cannot be recycled through our curb side or pickup program do the economics and are still the largest and most costly contamination. there by continuing to pose a threat and a real obstacle. and then finally plastic bags are continuing to be a threat to marine and wildlife. a 2010 study named san francisco s mission creek as one of the most