MEXICO CITY , Mexico ( CNN ) -- Mexico City 's thousands of stores went green Wednesday , as amended ordinances on solid waste now outlaw businesses from giving out thin plastic bags that are not biodegradable . Mexico City stores , such as this supermarket , can no longer give out non-biodegradable plastic bags . The law affects all stores , production facilities and service providers within the Federal District , which encompasses the city limits . Nearly 9 million people live inside the district and another 10 million reside in surrounding communities that make up greater Mexico City . Mexico City becomes the second large metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw the bags . San Francisco in March 2007 enacted an ordinance that gave supermarkets six months and large chain pharmacies about a year to phase out the bags . Los Angeles is set to impose a ban if the state of California does not enact a statewide 25-cent fee per bag by July . About 90 percent of the bags used in the United States are not recycled . Bans and other restrictions on plastic bags are in place in several countries . China has adopted a strict limit , reducing litter and eliminating the use of 40 billion bags , the World Watch Institute said , citing government estimates . Although compliance has been spotty , violation of the law carries a possible fine of 10,000 yuan ( $ 1,463 ) , World Watch said . In Tanzania , selling the bags carries a maximum six-month jail sentence and a fine of 1.5 million shilling ( $ 1,137 ) . Mumbai , India , outlawed the bags in 2000 and cities in Australia , Italy , South Africa and Taiwan have imposed bans or surcharges . Ireland reported cutting use of the bags by 90 percent after imposing a fee on each one . Some leading environmentalists are calling for a global ban on the bags . Achim Steiner , executive director of the United Nations Environment Program , says plastic bags are the second-most-common form of litter , behind cigarette butts . The bags are the greatest form of litter on the globe 's oceans , the U.N. agency said in a recent report . The bags are also a major threat to ocean wildlife , causing the deaths of 100,000 sea turtles and other marine animals that mistake them for food . `` Thin-film , single-use plastic bags , which choke marine life , should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere , '' Steiner said in June . `` There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore , anywhere . '' Mexico City , which has had some of the worst air pollution in the world , also is looking at improving its environment in other ways . The municipal government announced this month it will place more than 1,100 bicycles at 84 stations throughout the city for residents to use . Officials said they hope to increase bicycle use as a form of transportation to 5 percent , up from the current 1.2 percent .
Mexico City is Western Hemisphere 's second large metro area to ban the practice . Move ##s as leading environmentalists call for global action . UN agency : Plastic bags are second - most common form of transportation . Bags a major threat to ocean wildlife , U.N. agency says .