Steps to Reduce Plastic Shopping Bags
Each minute, over one million plastic bags are consumed worldwide.
No wonder, then, that the environmental damage associated with plastic shopping bags has become a burning issue in recent times. People across the world are coming round to the view that when we accept the plastic shopping bags on our shopping trips, we actively support the destruction of our habitat for a few minutes of convenience.
Breaking the Plastic Bag Habit
Happily, people are also beginning to believe that they can break the plastic bag habit. Steps are being taken by communities, business groups, environmental organisations and governments to curb the use of plastic shopping bags. These have included complete bans, phasing out plastic bags over a period of time, imposition of taxes and incentive for alternatives.
Bangladesh banned plastic shopping bags in 2002 after it emerged that sewers and drains clogged by discarded plastic bags were a major cause of the devastating floods that plagued the country. Countries like Zanzibar and Bhutan have also banned their use completely. In the USA, San Francisco and Oakland have banned plastic bags, as have many village communities and towns in Alaska. Los Angeles is all set to ban them from 2010. In France, a nationwide ban on plastic bags is to take effect from January 2010. In India, Mumbai has banned them already.
Plastic Bag Consumption Tax
Ireland has been a trailblazer of sorts in the war against plastic shopping bags. It used to consume more than a billion plastic bags annually, before an extremely successful plastic bag consumption tax (“PlasTax”) of €0.15 introduced in March 2002 reduced consumption by 90%. Millions of Euros have also been raised to fund recycling programs and other environmental action.
Following the spectacular success of PlasTax, governments around the world are considering implementing similar measures. Plastic shopping bags are taxed in Sweden and Germany. The South African government collects a levy of 3 cents per bag, apart from banning those below the thickness of 30 microns.
Taiwan requires stores to charge customers for plastic bags and utensils. It has resulted in a huge fall in their use. From June 2008, stores in China have been prohibited from giving out free plastic shopping bags. Use of bags thinner than 25 microns is also banned. Australia has in place a National Packaging Covenant to manage the use of plastic bags, and nearly 90% of retailers have signed up.
Promoting Eco-Friendly Alternatives
In the UK, a large number of retailers have either stopped supplying plastic shopping bags entirely or are charging customers for them (or rewarding customers who bring their own bags). The London Councils have proposed a ban on free shopping bags in the capital, likely to become law in 2009. There have also been demands for imposition of taxes on disposable plastic shopping bags, and the government is already considering such a step in 2009.
Thankfully, the world seems to have woken up to the menace of the plastic shopping bag. A lot however remains to be done, especially in the area of promoting eco-friendly alternatives that catch the imagination of people.
