Consumers in most countries in the world are charged for plastic shopping bags.
In many European countries, such as Germany, retailers charge for plastic check-out bags of their own accord without any government legislation in place. The shopping culture is that using plastic shopping bags to carry your shopping is frowned upon by the community
Ireland - In May 2002, a 15 euro-cent (25c) levy was placed on plastic supermarket checkout bags. The main reason for introducing a levy on the single use bag was because of the huge litter problem they were causing. This scheme saw a 90% reduction in plastic bag use in Ireland in the first 5 months. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2205419.stm
The South African Government has banned the use of thin plastic bags since May 2003. Retailers handing out the bags now face a fine of 100,000 rand ($13,800) or a 10-year jail sentence. The legislation means shoppers will either have to take bags with them when they go shopping, or buy new, thick, stronger plastic bags that are easier and more profitable to recycle. This approach has significantly reduced the litter plastic shopping bags is causing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3013419.stm
Bangladesh has a total ban on plastic bags since 2002. Plastic bags in drains were identified as major factors in the severe flooding in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998.
California Assembly OKs plastic bag litter bill
May 19 -- The California State Assembly passed legislation May 18 to reduce plastic bag litter and waste.
Assembly member Lloyd Levine, a Democrat, introduced the measure, which requires grocery stores and supermarkets to take back plastic bags for recycling and provide consumers with a bag reuse opportunity.
"Californians use over 19 billion plastic grocery and merchandise bags a year, creating 147,038 tons of unnecessary waste," Levine said. "Thatīs enough plastic waste to circle the planet over 250 times per year."
Californians Against Waste supported the bill. Executive Director Mark Murray said recycling efforts so far have been minimal and ineffectual, with only 1 percent of bags recycled in 2000.
Local governments spend millions of dollars every year cleaning up plastic bags that get snagged in trees, clog storm drains, and litter roads, rivers and beaches, Murray said.
California would be the second state to pass this type of retailer responsibility legislation, following Rhode Island. The bill now goes to the state Senate.
GREEN SPACE | Save petroleum by reusing plastic bags
GREEN SPACE | Save petroleum by reusing bags
At least 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide each year, according to data extrapolated from EPA studies.
But that number is edging toward a trillion, studies say. One-hundred billion of those bags are used in the United States.
Plastic bags are a petroleum-based product. Try reusing plastic bags by keeping a stash of used bags in the trunk of your car or under one of the seats, so you can grab them before you go into the grocery store.
SAN FRANCISCO - The idea, floated 18 months ago, that grocery stores here should charge shoppers for the plastic bags they use proved to be a politically unpopular move.
So now it's up to plastic-bag-loving consumers to do their part.
City officials, representatives of grocery stores and bag manufacturers delivered that message Wednesday, unveiling a public awareness campaign aimed at convincing shoppers that the flimsy plastic bags are both robust and recyclable.
Grocers are retraining clerks to efficiently pack more items in each bag. They're also selling reusable bags, said Peter Larkin, president of the California Grocers Association.
"But now it's time for the people of San Francisco to join in this effort in order to help us accomplish our goals," he said.
"What we need," added Jennifer Webber, a spokeswoman for Safeway Inc., "is our customers to understand that the checkout bags are stronger than what they think and that they do need just one bag."
To that end, stores around the city will begin sporting posters that aim to cajole shoppers into using fewer bags by stuffing more into them, skipping the double-bagging and returning clean bags so they can be reused.
One of the posters, featuring a muscular arm holding a plastic bag, shouts, "Checkout bags: Stronger than you think!"
The other two posters, in an attempt to highlight how useful the bags can be after ferrying groceries home, show a 1950s-era man and woman wearing clothing made of the bags. "Get more out of them!" the posters proclaim.
It is unclear whether this can persuade consumers to use less of something they have grown quite accustomed to.
Estimates of the number of grocery bags taken home each year by San Francisco shoppers range from 50 million to 150 million. Ninety percent of the bags are plastic.
Once in the trash stream, thin plastic bags are difficult to recycle because they often contain food or animal waste. Only a few cities, such as Los Angeles, accept plastic bags in residential recycling containers. Some Orange County towns have set up collection bins specifically for the bags.
But in San Francisco and elsewhere in California, too many bags wind up as street litter or persist in landfills.
Early last year, San Francisco's Environmental Commission passed a resolution urging city leaders to require large grocery stores to charge 17 cents for each bag. The proceeds were to be used to subsidize the sale of reusable bags, to finance litter removal and to research better ways of recycling the material.
