Bag 'em up: Plastic Sacks Losing Appeal

Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune 01.22.08

Prompted by environmental and consumer concerns, some grocery stores are banning thin plastic bags this spring. The super-thin grocery bag, usually made out of polyethylene film, came along just 25 years ago to alleviate our burdens, and in that short time it has spread across the world like an urban tumbleweed.

The global use of plastic bags amounts to 100 billion a year, according to the Film and Bag Federation, an industry trade group. Others say it's much higher, approaching 100 billion in the United States alone. The website Reusablebags.com has a running ticker of U.S. bag consumption which, as of last night, topped 29 billion.

Link: Bag 'em up: Plastic Sacks Losing Appeal