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Plastic bag ban

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Single-use plastic shopping bags are usually distributed (for free) to customers by stores when purchasing goods. It is a popular method that is practiced in many countries for being a strong, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Lightweight bags are commonly made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic.[1]

Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources (such as such as crude oil, gas and coal),[2] disposal, and environmental impacts.

A car could drive about 11 metres on the amount of petroleum used to make a single plastic bag.[1] In Australia alone 6 billion HDPE bags were used in 2002.[1] Usage reduced to 5.6 billion in 2004,[2] and 3.9 billion in 2007.[1] Plastic bags can block drains, trap birds and kill livestock. The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year[2] as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags. The term white pollution has been coined to describe the local and global effects of discarded plastic bags upon the environment.

Governments all over the world have taken action to either ban the sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags or generate taxes from the stores who sell them.[3] Major countries such as South Africa, China, Taiwan and Macedonia have a total ban on the bag.[3]

Issues

Plastic waste on the mounds of garbage in the Philippines.

Plastic bags cause many minor and major issues in geographical terms. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and are aesthetically displeasing.[1]

When disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. If not disposed of properly the bags can pollute waterways, clog sewers and have been found in oceans affecting the habitat of animals and marine creatures.[1]

Lightweight plastic bags are also blown into trees and other plants and can be mistaken for flowers by animals affecting their diet.

Regional developments

Phase out of lightweight plastic bags around the world
  A full ban
  A partial ban
  A tax on some plastic bags

Africa

Mauritania

Mauritania banned the use, manufacture and import of plastic bags from January 2013 as a way to protect the environment, livestock, and marine species.[4]

Kenya

Kenya banned the manufacture and import of plastic bags from January 2011 as a way to protect the environment.[5]

Rwanda

Rwanda prohibited shops from giving away plastic bags to their customers in 2004.[6]

South Africa

Plastic bags were a major issue in South Africa before the ban. All lightweight plastic bags were banned in 2003 and thicker plastic bagged are taxed.[7]

Tanzania

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar banned plastic bags in 2005.[8] Tanzania introduced a nationwide ban on plastic bags in 2006.[9]

Uganda

Heap of trash including plastic bags in Kampala, Uganda

Uganda introduced legislation in 2007 to ban the sale of lightweight plastic bags under 30 microns thick and tax thicker bags at a punitive rate of 120%. Although the laws came into effect in September of that year,[10] they have not been enforced and have failed to measurably reduce the use of plastic bags. [11]

Asia

Bangladesh

A strict ban was introduced in Bangladesh in 2002 after the occurrence of floods from 1988 to 1998 that submerged two-thirds of the country in water. The cause was from littered plastic bags.[12]

Hong Kong

Hong Kong forbids retailers from giving plastic bags under a certain thickness and for free.[3] The use of plastic bags dropped 90% after the introduction of the levy.[13]

A sign proclaiming that polythene bags thinner than 30 microns are prohibited in Kasaragod, Kerala, India.

India

In 2002, India banned the production of plastic bags below 20 microns in thickness to prevent plastic bags from clogging of the municipal drainage systems and to prevent the sacred cows of India ingesting plastic bags as they confuse it for food.[14] [3] However, enforcement remains a problem.[15]

Malaysia

Malaysia enforce taxes on plastic bags on every Saturday since 2011 in state of Selangor.[16]

However, in Penang, taxes on plastic bags applies everyday.[17]

People's Republic of China

A total plastic bag ban on ultra thin plastic bags and a fee on plastic bags was introduced in China on June 1, 2008. This came into effect because of the problems with sewerage and general waste. The country now uses over 50% fewer plastic bags saving roughly 40 billion a year.[18]

Taiwan

In January 2003, Taiwan banned the free distribution of lightweight plastic bags.[19] Many stores have replaced plastic with recycled paper boxes.[20]

Europe

Denmark

In 2003, Denmark introduced a tax to retails for giving out plastic bags. This encouraged stores to charge for plastic bags and pushed the use of reusable bags. It was thought that this saved about 66% of plastic and paper bags.[21]

Germany

All stores in Germany that provide plastic bags must pay a recycling tax.[citation needed]

Ireland

The Republic of Ireland introduced a €0.15 tax in March 2002. Levied on consumers at the point of sale, this led to 90% of consumers using long-life bags within a year. The tax was increased to €0.22 in 2007. The revenue is put into an Environment Fund.[22]

Italy

In January 2011, Italy banned the distribution of plastic bags that are not from biodegradable sources.[23]

United Kingdom

Wales introduced a legal minimum charge of 5p for almost all single-use bags in October 2011. Paper and biodegradable bags are included in the charge as well as plastic bags, with only a few specific exemptions - such as for unpackaged food or medicine supplied on an NHS prescription. Monies raised from the charge are not collected by the Welsh Government, which instead asks retailers to pass proceeds on to environmental charities.[24]

Northern Ireland will phase-in a very similar scheme of charging for bags during 2013 and 2014,[25] while Scotland launched a consultation on the matter in June 2012.

July 2012 statistics released by the Welsh Government suggested that carrier bag use in Wales had reduced since the introduction of the charge; England and Northern Ireland, which make no such charge, had seen a rise in usage.[26]

Major supermarkets in the UK have introduced "bags for life", reusable bags that customers are encouraged to use instead of disposable plastic bags.

North America

United States

Altogether, 85 U.S. communities have plastic bags bans, including three of the 14 largest and five of the 29 largest cities in the United States: San Francisco, San Jose, Calif.; Austin, Texas, Seattle and Portland, Ore. [27] San Francisco led the nation with a complete ban on plastic bags in 2007 with the exception of biodegradable bags.[28] Seattle introduced a ban on single-use plastic bags on July 1, 2012.[29] The Los Angeles City Council voted in 2012 to draft an ordinance that would make it the biggest city in the U.S. to implement a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout counters. All plastic is banned and customers have to pay for paper bags.[30]

A smaller number of communities have implemented a fee-only approach to bag reduction, such as Washington, D.C. and adjacent Montgomery county, Maryland.[27]

Canada

In Canada, the Toronto City Council voted to ban plastic bags, beginning January 1, 2013. Toronto city council voted on June 6, 2012, to ban plastic bags effective January 1, 2013, and to scrap the city's five-cent bag fee starting July 1, 2012 [31]. Industry groups have convinced city officials to include a grace period between January 1, 2013, and June 30, 2013, when no fines, only warnings, can be issued. [32]

Mexico

Mexico now fines stores for giving plastic bags to their customers since August 2010. Plastic bags were one of Mexico's biggest pollution problems.[33]

Oceania

Australia

Although the nation does not ban lightweight bags, the state of South Australia and some cities have independently banned the bag. Coles Bay, Tasmania was the first location in Australia to ban the bag.[34] The introduction of the 'Zero Waste' program in South Australia led to a lightweight bag ban in October 2008. It is estimated that 400 million bags are saved each year.[35]

New Zealand

Government have not implemented measures to significantly lower the amount of bags, but some independent retailers have taken the approach to charge for plastic bags. In Christchurch, a kerbside program has been established to collect bags on roads and parklands to be recycled.[36]

Alternatives

Most lightweight bags are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE), and an alternative to them are low density polyethylene (LDPE) which are thicker and can be reused.[37] The problem is, LDPE is generally more expensive, and the majority of retailers charge the customer to purchase the bag, which allegedly decreases the amount of bags that are used.

Bags can also be made from biodegradable materials that will generally break down quicker than HDPE. A common material is cornstarch.[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Plastic bags". Australian Government. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Plastic Bag Fact Sheet" (pdf). Sustainability Victoria. 9 November 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Kogoy, D (8 November 2010). "Plastic bag reduction around the world" (pdf). Marrickville Council.
  4. ^ >"Mauritania bans plastic bag use". BBC. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Kenya bans plastic bags". The Independent UK. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Rwanda's war on plastic bags". BBC. 2004-10-04. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  7. ^ John Roach (4 April 2008). "Plastic-Bag Bans Gaining Momentum Around the World". National Geographic. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Zanzibar islands ban plastic bags". BBC. 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  9. ^ Pflanz, By Mike (2006-04-04). "Tanzania to ban all plastic bags". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  10. ^ "East African ban on plastic bags". BBC. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  11. ^ Tenywa, Gerald (2009-01-11). "Paper bag makers shift base as kaveera ghost hits with vengeance". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  12. ^ Nicole Bogart (7 June 2012). "Top 5 places with plastic bag bans". Global News. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Plastic bag ban abroad". China Network Television. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  14. ^ "plastic pollution: cow eating a plastic bag, near the Ganges River, Allahabad, India, 2007". Britannica. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  15. ^ Krulwich, Robert (June 09, 2008). "India Cow Killer Bagged, but Deaths Continue". NPR. Retrieved 17 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Shaun Ho (3 January 2010). "Selangor implements 'No Plastic Day' every Saturday". The Star. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  17. ^ "Launching of No Free Plastic Bags Day at Tesco Sg Dua". Penang Government. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  18. ^ Shi Jierui (10 July 2009). "China's bag ban, one year later". China Dialogue. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  19. ^ "Retail Bags Report - List of Retail Bag Policies - Asia". Department of Environmental Protection Florida. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  20. ^ "Why plastic shopping bag bans and taxes don't work" (doc). Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  21. ^ "Learn About Global Efforts to Reduce Waste from Disposable Products". Reuse it. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  22. ^ What should be done about plastic bags?
  23. ^ "Italy Carries Out Plastic Bag Ban". Environmental Leader. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  24. ^ http://www.carrierbagchargewales.gov.uk/retailers/?lang=en
  25. ^ http://www.rethinkwasteni.org/at-home/reduce/carrierbaglevy/
  26. ^ http://www.carrierbagchargewales.gov.uk/consumers/?lang=en
  27. ^ a b Verespej, Nike (16 November 2012). "Massachusetts town bans plastic bags". Waste & Recycling News. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  28. ^ "A short history of plastic bag laws in California". Plastic Bag Laws Organisation. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  29. ^ "Seattle bans plastic shopping bags". Kiro TV. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  30. ^ Scott Sincoff (1 July 2012). "Los Angeles City Council OKs Plastic Bag Ban". ENN. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  31. ^ "Toronto bans plastic bags by the start of 2013". The Toronto Sun. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  32. ^ "Toronto plastic bag ban: Bylaw ready to go for a Jan. 1 soft launch". The Toronto Star. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  33. ^ "Mexico City bans free plastic bags". British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  34. ^ "Tasmania carries eco-fight, bans plastic bags". Mail & Guardian. 29 April 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  35. ^ "Plastic Bag Ban". Zero Waste South Australia. 28 Feb 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  36. ^ "Plastic Bags". Zerowaste New Zealand. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  37. ^ "Plastic Bag Facts". Clean Up Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  38. ^ "Biodegradable Plastic". EarthBasics Pty Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
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