Santa Cruz County

You've done it: run into the store, only to run right back out again after realizing you forgot your reusable bags.

Such was life in 2012, as residents in unincorporated parts of the county adjusted to the long-promised ban on plastic to-go bags, which otherwise seems to have gone into effect with few hiccups. In place since March, it put Santa Cruz County on a growing list of municipalities statewide to implement a bag ban.

"We're very pleased. It's going exactly as we had hoped," said Tim Goncharoff, a county resource planner.

On Sept. 25, the Santa Cruz county board of supervisors is scheduled to hold a public hearing on reinstating a ban on plastic bags for takeout food. Including restaurant bags was part of the original proposed law that went into effect in March, but was excised during settlement negotiations to help resolve a lawsuit.