From The New York Times

A Texas first: Brownsville bans plastic bags amid controversy. By KATE GALBRAITH

Thanks to Delcia Lopez of The Texas Tribune

BROWNSVILLE — While buying groceries at the A&V Lopez supermarket this week, Rosie Orozco also spent 79 cents on something to put them in: a reusable bag emblazoned “Keep Texas Green.”  I have a whole bunch of these in my truck,” she said, noting that she often forgets to take them in when she shops.

Ms. Orozco’s collection of tote bags stems from a recent ordinance in Brownsville, one of Texas’ poorest big cities: a ban on plastic checkout bags in virtually all businesses. The policy, which took effect in January, has eliminated more than 350,000 bags per day, according to Mayor Pat Ahumada, who said in an e-mail that it has “transformed our city from littered and dirty to a much cleaner city.”

Two other Texas communities, Fort Stockton and South Padre Island, have also approved bans on plastic bags, which will take effect in September and January, respectively. Several large cities, including Laredo and El Paso, have previously considered bans, and even the small town of Poteet, south of San Antonio, plans to assess its bag-banning options

Read the entire article at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/us/08ttbags.html