USA Today 01.11.08
China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old. The ban takes effect June 1 and eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources.
Businesses will be prohibited from manufacturing, selling or using bags less than 0.025 mm thick, though more durable plastic bags will still be permitted for sale.
The order continues a years-old campaign against plastic waste, or "white pollution," that initially targeted the plastic foam lunch boxes whose decaying shells were once ubiquitous in China.
Our Take: Our congrats to China for really targeting consumption and aiming to reduce plastic bag waste by encouraging reusable shopping bags and charging for plastic bags.
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