National Geographic News 04.04.08

 Across the globe politicians and corporations are debating the effectiveness of plastic bag bans versus plastic bag taxes. Ireland, Italy and Belgium all tax plastic sacks, while places like San Francisco and China are banning them all together. Other countries and companies are implementing or considering recycling programs. Each attempt to deal with the issue has its pros and cons. According to Vincent Cobb, founder of ReusableBags.com, the movement has gained momentum. “We all have the tendency to buy too much stuff, and I think the symbolic nature is what has made this such a powerful thing.”

Our Take: Our founder was interviewed for this article – here is a quote: “A tax charged at checkout is what we need to change consumer behavior. Plastic bags aren’t inherently bad; it’s the mindlessness and volume of consumption.”

Link: Plastic Bag Bans Gaining Momentum Around the World 

Ireland.com 7.01.07

The plastic bag levy has increased to 22 cent today in a further bid to reduce littering.

The former minister for the environment Dick Roche announced the rise last February which comes after evidence suggested the initial impact of the tax in 2002 was beginning to weaken.

Statistics showed each shopper used 328 bags a year before its introduction compared to just 21 afterwards. However plastic bag usage rose to 30 bags per person during 2006. The levy is seen as one of the most successful anti-littering devices introduced in Ireland and was copied internationally.

It initially sparked a 90 per cent drop in the use of plastic bags.

The funds help finance local environmental projects such as recycling facilities.

Link: Plastic bag levy rises to 22 cents

Somerset County Gazette

A campaign being led by the Somerset County Council and Somerset Waste Partnership will encourage retailers and check-out staff not to automatically give out carrier bags but to ask shoppers whether they actually need a bag. Wellington shoppers are being urged to play their part by using reusable shopping bags and packing the maximum amount that they can into carrier bags they take. They are also being reminded to reuse old bags such as using them as waste bin liners or for separating materials within their recycling boxes.

Link: Campaign To Cut Down Carrier Bags.

VOAnews.com

The city of Paris has decided to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags in large stores as of 2007, in an effort to cut down on pollution.

Experts say these disposable bags account for 8,000 tons of waste generated in Paris each year, at a cost of more than $2 million. Yves Contassot, the man responsible for environment and waste at the Paris city hall, says plastic bags are just one lesson about the dangers of overpackaging, and of using petroleum-based products to make these non-renewable bags. Parisians need to economize resources by managing them better, Contassot says. It's a question of environmental responsibility...

Link: Paris to Ban Non-Biodegradale Plastic Bags Next Year.

Belgian News, Belgium, Expatica

Belgian shoppers are increasingly opting for environmentally friendly reusable shopping bags and using fewer disposal ones, a new study has found.

A survey by consumer research group Crioc found a 9 percent jump in the use of reusable sacks between 2002 and 2003, and a 5 percent increase the following year.
At the same time, the study found a 36 percent decrease in the use of disposal bags in 2004...

Link: Reusable shopping bags 'taking off'.

The Epoch Times

A customer holds up his plastic bag of groceries at an outdoor market in Venice, Italy. Plastic wraps, used worldwide, are adding to the landfill problem. We could do something as simple as bringing our own shopping bag when we go to the store so that we do not need to answer that ubiquitous question, "paper or plastic?"...

Link: Being Green.

BBC News

The new Irish tax on plastic bags, known as the PlasTax, is making international waves. Praised for effectively raising national awareness about the role each individual plays in pollution creation and reduction, the tax has lead to impressive, tangible changes in consumer behavior.

The tax is meant to encourage shopper to use tougher, reusable bags. The plan seems to be working like a charm. In the first three months after the tax was introduced, shops reported handing out just over 23 million plastic bags - about 277 million fewer than normal...

Link: Irish bag tax hailed success.