US Plastic Bag Reduction Act introduced

Introduced on April 22nd by US Rep Jim Moran, the act imposes a five cent tax on all single use carrier and other plastic bags from supermarkets, convenience stores, takeout bags, and all other retail bags.

If passed, the five cent tax on plastic bags would increase to 25 cents in 2015, making an average trip to the supermarket cost a dollar more on each occasion if plastic bags are used.

http://www.fairhome.co.uk/2009/04/29/us-move-to-tax-plastic-bags-out-of-existence/


JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

25 cent plastic bag tax proposed in California

Assemblywoman Julie Brownley of Santa Monica is the author of the bill that's designed to reduce plastic bag litter. The bill proposes charging shoppers 25 cents for every plastic and paper bag they get from the grocery and drug store.

http://www.wbir.com/money/story.aspx?storyid=84591&catid=92


JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

South Australia will enforce a ban on plastic bags

On Monday May 4, South Australia will enforce a ban on plastic bags on grocery stores, saving 400 million bags.

Target has confirmed it will also ban plastic shopping bags in its Australian shops next month, saving an estimated 100 million bags a year.

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/target-bans-plastic-bags-next-month-20090430-aoyb.html

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Shoppers Using Reusable Bags 3 Times More

Grocery store chain Whole Foods, the first in the U.S. to eliminate plastic grocery bags, has seen the use of reusable shopping bags triple in the last year, Counselor reports. Whole foods did away with plastic bags in April 2008, and many other stores have done the same or begun offering credits for returned plastic bags or for brining in reusable bags.

http://www.corporatelogo.com/hotnews/shoppers-reusable-bags.html

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Elephants don't forget their bags

The Scottish Government is spending £466,000 on an advertising campaign to encourage people to reuse plastic bags. The advertisements on TV, radio and billboards use the image of an elephant to underline the "Don't forget" message.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Shoppers-are-urged-to-get.5064414.jp

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Texas bill to charge a 7 cent bag tax

The Texas Legislature is considering a bill that mirrors efforts in cities across the state and nation to reduce the use of plastic bags or charge for their use. Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, thinks a 7-cent tax on plastic bags in Texas could be part of the solution to ending use of the ubiquitous and environmentally unfriendly sacks. Under his bill, a small part of the 7 cents charged on each plastic bag would go back to the retailer while the rest would help cities run their recycling programs.

Virginia and Maryland also are debating similar fees for plastic bags and so are cities such as Seattle, Washington and New York. More than a dozen other cities have passed or are debating bans on plastic bags.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/37681

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Schlumpy

Bag company, Blue Avocado, created a big ball of plastic bags and rolled it around various cities to raise awareness of the million plastic shopping bags Americans use each year. The video can be found at http://sustainablog.org/2009/03/13/help-schlumpy-get-1-billion-plastic-bags-off-of-the-street/#more-4295

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Reduce plastic bag consumption in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Food Association and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection signed an agreement 3/12/2009 committing to reducing the number of disposable plastic and paper grocery bags distributed in the state by a third in the next five years.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/state/x1676802437/Using-plastic-bags-may-be-a-hard-habit-to-break

The hope is to cut the use of bags at supermarkets to 1 billion annually, from 1.5 billion, by 2013. According to the ACC, plastic bags use 70% less energy to make than paper bags and emit 50% less greenhouse gas during production.

http://www.smartbrief.com/news/acc/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=599AB3CD-D4C2-44E5-B0DF-D95FBB4567B2&copyid=2AE85B23-A8BF-44EC-9B64-F2EFEED43705

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Plastic bag ban in Dehli

The plastic bag ban in Delhi went into effect Jan 9, 2009. Hotels, hospitals, retail stores, markets, restaurants, and liquor stores should comply or face the maximum penalty for using a banned plastic bag which is a a fine of Rs.100,000 or a five-year prison term. A complaint from some merchants has been the lack of other affordable bag options. Bring your own!

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/traders-campaigners-welcome-ban-on-plastic-bags-in-delhi_100143163.html

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Biodegradable bags

One solution to the plastic bag dilemma is to have biodegradable plastic bags, which sounds great, but the Telegraph journal reported today that they only degrade with oxygen, which most landfills do not get much of because they get covered. Biodegradable is not the same as compostable, which break down from being eaten by micro-organisms. Recycling is also not an option for biodegradable bags because products made from the recycled material will break down due to a chemical additive.

Confused? Just bring your own bag and save the worry!

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/541771

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Toledo and New York mayors proposed plastic bag tax

The mayors of Toledo, OH and New York, NY have both proposed a tax on plastic bags.

In New York, it has been estimated that the fee could generate at least $16 million for the city while keeping a billion plastic bags every year out of landfills.

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Plastic in the ocean

The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) has proposed instituting plastic bag use fees and banning plastic take-out containers as part of a strategy to reduce ocean litter.

According to the Long Beach-based Algalita Marine Research Foundation, 60 to 80% of the world's ocean litter is made up of plastic.

http://www.resources.ca.gov/copc/

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

5 Canadian cents fee for plastic bags

Loblaw, Canada's biggest super market chain, said it would begin charging customers 5 Canadian cents a bag on April 22, 2009, which is Earth Day.

The city council in Toronto is currently debating passing a controversial bylaw to put a surcharge of 5 Canadian cents on all plastic shopping bags used in the city.

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

If you need to take a plastic bag...

If you need to take a plastic bag, please re-use it, or recycle curbside if available or at a convenient drop-off site. Grocery stores often provide a bin for recycling plastic bags, and www.plasticbagrecycling.org has a database of drop-off locations. Remember to recycle only plastic bags that are clean and dry and remove any receipts.

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Bra doubles as shopping bag

Lingerie manufacturer Triumph International Japan introduced their bra / reusable bag combination. When in bra formation, the shopping bag portion acts as padding.

http://www.triumphjapan.com/release/unique/2006110700166.html


JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

San Francisco ban in effect

As of Tuesday 11/19/2007 large grocery stores are only allowed to distribute paper or biodegradable plastic bags.

From the San Francisco Gate
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/19/BA2BTE64K.DTL

From CNN
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2007/11/26/lawrence.plastic.bag.ban.cnn

Bring your own...

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

London considering banning free plastic bags

On November 27, the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bag) Bill is due to be deposited in Parliament. London councils want free plastic bags to be banned to encourage the use of reusable bags.Councillor Merrick Cockell, chairman of London Councils, said: "The campaign to rid the capital of the environmental blight of throwaway shopping bags begins here."


JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Plastic Bag News from New York and Arizona

In New York and Arizona there is talk of plastic bag recycling. While recycling is good, reusing is better. The energy and resources needed for recycling can be spared by bringing a reusable bag.

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Massachusetts designates "Reusable Bag Day"

Heard about the office trend of "No Email Fridays?" Well Massachusetts has declared Wednesday at "Reusable Bag Day" to promote the overall use of reusable bags. Hong Kong and Singapore sponsored similar programs, and brought a lot of attention to the cause.

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com

Zanzibar banned plastic bags

In 2006, Zanzibar banned the import and production of plastic bags to help protect the environment. The Government was particularly concerned with damage to marine life and the negative impact that could have on tourism. Shoppers are encouraged to use raffia reusable bags instead of plastic. Violating the ban results in a fine and/or jail time, but sceptics question if the ban will be enforced.

JP Monkey
www.jpmonkey.com