CNN, 06.01.08

China recently fulfilled its January pledge to ban free plastic bags. CNN gives us a glimpse into both the new system of charging for disposable plastic bags and the depressing effects of the culprits being free and plentiful for dozens of years.

Our Take: We hope other countries will follow China’s lead. Charging for plastic bags will help to change consumer habits over time – Ireland has the proof after their hugely successful Plastax produced a 90% drop in consumption. What do you think?

Click here to watch the video: China bans free plastic bags 

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.

Link: Shoppers: It's BYO Bag in China

People's Daily Online 05.22.07

Hong Kong's government may be urged to impose a levy on plastic bag use to save the city from plastic bag landfills as there are over 8 billion plastic shopping bags disposed yearly, according to the figure released May 21 by the environmental department. In a paper tabled to lawmakers May 21, the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department urged the legislative to agree to impose a levy to cut plastic bag use, adding a 50-cent levy could cut plastic bag use in Hong Kong by one billion.

Link: Levy may be imposed to cut plastic bag use in Hong Kong

China NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Singapore's first Bring Your Own Bag Day on Wednesday managed to save an estimated 100,000 plastic bags.

According to leading supermarket chains NTUC Fairprice and Cold Storage, they cut the number of plastic bags by up to 60 per cent.

They also sold about 20,000 reusable bags.

At one Cold Storage outlet, most shoppers say they do not mind if they have to donate 10 cents to environmental projects for every plastic bag they take...

Link: 100,000 plastic bags saved on Bring Your Own Bag Day.

Daily Times

Thousands of plastic bags are thrown away everyday in Pakistan, which results in choked drains, bacterial germinations, water borne diseases and the spread of mosquitoes.  Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency Director General says the situation is "grim".  "We need a mass awareness campaign and cooperation of the people to control the use of polythene bags."

Link: Pakistan Seeing Need for Awareness Campaign to Control use of Plastic Bags.

news.gov.hk

Thanks to the wide support of major supermarket and retail chains, the 'No plastic bag day' campaign will be extended to 2007.

The Environmental Protection Department said the patrons include Wellcome, Park n Shop, China Resources Vanguard, Watsons, Mannings, 7-Eleven, Circle-K, DCH Food Marts, City' Super, A-1 Bakery and ThreeSixty. They promised to have the campaign at least once a month.

Since June, more than 30 major supermarket and retail chains have joined the voluntary scheme to reduce the indiscriminate use of plastic shopping bags.According to a Green Student Council customer survey, participating retailers distributed an average of more than 40% fewer plastic bags on 'No plastic bag days'.

Link: 'No plastic bag day' extended to 2007.

news.gov.hk

Supermarkets have handed out 80 million fewer plastic bags since the launch of the voluntary pact on plastic-bag reduction, Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works Dr Sarah Liao says. The three major supermarket chains have achieved 24-29% cuts, far above their 15% target.

To reduce the indiscriminate use of plastic shopping bags, Dr Liao said a study report on a plastic shopping bag levy - including its feasibility, options, level of charge and scope, the environmental benefits of various options and their impact on the trades - will be completed by the end of this year.

Link: Supermarkets dole out fewer plastic bags.

More than 20 young cyclists rode through the busy streets of Kowloon Wednesday to ask shops to participate in Hong Kong's first No Plastic Bag Day on April 15.

Members of environmental organization Green Student Council were joined by other cyclists for the morning ride from Tsim Sha Tsui's landmark Clock Tower to Mong Kok and back.

Along the way they played a recorded message on a speaker to promote No Plastic Bag Day, and invited shop owners to join.

Shops participating will not offer free plastic bags to customers for the day. Instead, shoppers will have to pay 50 cents for each bag. Proceeds from the event will go to Oxfam Hong Kong.

Green Student Council chairman Angus Ho said the event addressed concern over massive overuse of plastic bags in the city.

Hong Kong consumes 33 million plastic bags - 5 per resident - every day. Australia, with 20 million people, uses a quarter of that number of bags a day, and Ireland, which introduced a bag levy in 2002, uses a third.

Link: The Standard - China's Business Newspaper.

The Telegraph

Planning to visit the jungles of Jharkhand or the Rajrappa temple next month? Carry everything, except for plastic and polythene bags.

The reason: the state forest and environment department has decided to ban the use of any type of polythene in the national parks, reserves forests, sanctuaries and zoos across Jharkhand from next month.

The department has also decided to put a blanket ban on the use of polythene bags within a two-kilometre radius of the Rajrappa temple, where thousands of devotees visit everyday from various parts of the country.

Sources in the department said the decision has been taken according to the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act of 1986. The department had been receiving a large number of complaints from local forest officials about the indiscriminate use of polythene bags in national parks, sanctuaries and reserve forests...

Link: Blanket ban on plastic bags in forests.

Sun.Star Pampanga

DO PLASTIC bags contribute to flooding?

This is what the Western Indian State of Maharashtra thinks so. They ban the manufacture, sale and use of all plastic bags, saying they choked drainage systems during the recent monsoon rains. Flooding and landslides killed more than 1,000 people in the state. The ban carries a fine of 5,000 rupees (P6,200) for manufacturing and selling plastic bags, and 1,000 rupees (P1,233) for individuals caught using it. The Northern Indian State of Himachi Pradesh, a popular tourist destination, is the first Indian state to impose a similar ban on plastic bags. The penalty for those using a polyethylene bag is US$2,000 or seven years imprisonment.
Flooding is also the reason why Bangladesh enforced a complete ban on the sale and use of polyethylene bags in the capital, Dhaka. Millions of plastic bags disposed of everyday are clogging Dhaka's drainage system, posing a serious environmental hazard. It is identified as one of the leading causes of severe flooding in 1988 and 1998. They are now promoting the use of jute bags as an alternative...

Link: Another Indian state bans plastic bags.