SHOREWOOD, Wis. (AP) — Thousands of suburban Milwaukee residents have a new way to carry items home from the store.

Members of the Shorewood Conservation Committee delivered reusable shopping bags to all 6,900 households in their community Saturday, hoping people will use them repeatedly rather than pick up new bags on every shopping trip.
Committee member Kim Forbeck says the group has calculated that if each household used the reusable bag twice a week, it would save 720,000 or more bags from going into landfills.

Last year, San Francisco became the nation’s first city to ban plastic grocery bags, except for those specially made to biodegrade.

The Shorewood effort is believed to be a first for Wisconsin.

Local businesses are paying for the 81-cent bags. In return, they get their names printed on the side.

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