Bisphenol A is a synthetic chemical compound found in many plastics. In June of 2006, the Board of Supervisors passed a law to ban the sale of baby products containing Bisphenol A, effective December 2007. At the time, the city was the only place in the world to ban the sale of Bisphenol A products. In May of 2007 the city repealed the ban after a wave of lawsuits and input from the Health and Environmental departments. The city vowed to reconsider the ban in a year.

Petroleum-based plastic bags are banned from being given out by large supermarkets and drugstores.