ban on plastic bags in the wind

There’s a growing push worldwide to ban plastic shopping bags. From Australia to the U.K., and all across the U.S., politicians and corporations are pondering banning or taxing plastic bags. Ireland started placing a surcharge on plastic bag use in 2003 which has encouraged a shift from plastic to reusable cloth totes. The use of plastic bags in Ireland dropped more than 90 percent following imposition of the tax, and the government has raised millions of dollars for recycling programs.
Similar legislation has been introduced in Scotland and is being discussed for the rest of the United Kingdom.

In March 2007, San Francisco became the first (and is still the only) major U.S. city to implement an across-the-board ban on plastic bags. Large supermarkets and pharmacies there had to ditch plastic shopping bags by early 2008 in favor of paper bags or those made from all-natural biodegradable cornstarch-based plastic. Environmentalists are particularly fond of the latter option for those who don’t bring their own grocery bags, as these cornstarch bags offer the biodegradability of paper without the deforestation as well as the convenience of plastic without the damage to ecosystems. San Francisco officials had originally tried to work with retailers on reducing plastic bag use voluntarily. But after a few years of little or no cooperation, they decided to just institute the ban on anything but biodegradable bags. The result has been a 50 percent drop in plastic bag litter on the streets since the ban took effect. (source: nhpr.org)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVPEobrkpI4

Bottom line: Plastic bags are made from oil, using fossil fuels in their production. Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. The average person’s plastic bag legacy will be 4.175 million years! Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Do you really need them? Please consider reusable totes or some other suitable carrier as an alternative shopping habit to develop.

Until next time. Peace.
Steve