Campaign to ban the bags gets a boost with the bags to be banned by 2010.

Los Angeles has became the second US city to issue a ban on the use of plastic bags in grocery stores. The city council overcame an intense effort by bag manufacturers and unanimously approved a plastic bag ban.

The ban will take effect if the state of California does not follow through with plans to charge shoppers 25 cents for each bag.  The pay to pollute plan now being considered at the state level.

Los Angeles goes through more than 2bn plastic bags each year, only 5% of which are recycled, according to city estimates.

In addition to the ban on plastic, the city council added an incentive for shoppers to bring their own bags,  The new city rule would impose a 25-cent fee for paper or biodegradable bags if shoppers do not bring their own bag.

Last year San Francisco was the first city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags.  The move to ban the bags is picking up and a number of countries have moved to ban, or significantly reduce, the use of the plastic bags.