BROOKLINE (CBS) – First it was styrofoam, now Brookline Town Meeting has voted to ban plastic bags at large grocery stores.

The ban will be in place by December 2013.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Carl Stevens reports

The ban will focus on bags at chain grocery stores and will not affect so-called “mom and pop shops.”

Nancy Heller, who led the town meeting warrant, says the ban is all about leaving a better future for Brookline’s children.

“Think of this as a problem like the debt problem,” Heller said. “We don’t want to leave our children with crushing debt, why should we leave them with crushing waste?”

Great Barrington has a similar ban on styrofoam cups and containers.