Posted 01 September 2010
Another effort in California to ban plastic bags failed in the Legislature late Tuesday night. That measure, AB 1998, passed the Assembly in June and had the support of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger but faced a withering and well-financed advertising and lobbying campaign from the plastic bag manufacturing industry, reports The LA Times.[+]
Posted 31 August 2010
The expected Senate vote on AB 1998, the bill to ban plastic bags and most paper bags from most stores, did not take place on Monday. AB 1998, which received Assembly approval in June, must get through the Senate and return to the Assembly for a concurrence vote by the end of today, reports The Lookout News.[+]
Posted 26 August 2010
The clock is ticking to pass a bill that would make California the first state in the country to ban single-use plastic bags. AB 1998, which was authored by Santa Monica Assemblymember Julia Brownley, has until Tuesday to get full Legislature approval. The plastics industry is putting on a fierce campaign to prevent that from happening, reports The Lookout News.[+]
Posted 26 August 2010
Good news and less good news from the front line on plastic bags. The number of said receptacles given out by the major British supermarkets has declined for the fourth year running. The less good news is that a question mark hangs over the most recent annual figures, reports The Independent.[+]
Posted 26 August 2010
It is indeed good news that there are fewer carrier bags filling up Britain's rapidly diminishing supply of landfill sites than there were. But in the year ending 31 May 2010 an astonishing 6.1 billion were still handed out, reports The Independent.[+]
Posted 26 August 2010
The number of "single-use" plastic bags given to customers by leading UK supermarkets has fallen for the fourth year in a row, reports The Independent.[+]
Posted 25 August 2010
Use of carrier bags down 43% in four years, says Waste & Resources Action Programme, but recent figures show fresh rise, reports The Guardian.[+]
Posted 19 August 2010
A new law has come into effect in Mexico City giving the authorities the power to fine shops which give away free plastic bags to their customers, reports the BBC.[+]
Posted 19 August 2010
Mexico City's thousands of stores went green Wednesday, as amended ordinances on solid waste now outlaw businesses from giving out thin plastic bags that are not biodegradable, reports CNN.[+]
Posted 02 August 2010
Environment California collected 500 signatures of support from California businesses in favor of AB 1998, pending legislation that would ban certain stores from providing plastic bags at the point of check out. The stores represent small businesses all across the state and range from restaurants to salons to construction companies and many more, reports Environment America.[+]
Posted 01 August 2010
August 1 onwards, the state government has imposed a ban on use, manufacture and storage of plastic bags. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation was roped in to enforce the ban in the city. The state order has received wide public support from sections of society, reports The Times of India. [+]
Posted 01 August 2010
Following the state government's ban on plastic bags, a few Jaipurites have joined hands to discourage the use of plastics bags in the city by distributing free cloth bags to vegetable vendors, grocery shops and panwallahs on Sunday. The team is working under the banner of a newly-floated NGO Rays: Asha Ki Ek Kiran', reports The Times of India. [+]
Posted 29 July 2010
The countdown on the blanket ban on use of all plastic carry bags in the state has begun. From holding meetings with the members of the plastic association to awareness campaigns - the state government is gearing up for strict enforcement of the ban, reports The Times of India. [+]
Posted 29 July 2010
In the heart of Nairobi's Kawangware slums, a youth group has found fortune the least expected commodity; waste paper. And this group has managed to put a high-end shopping bag into the market in effort that could be replicated anywhere, reports AllAfrica.com.[+]
Posted 22 July 2010
Portland's proposed plastic bag ban, which the City Council will consider as early as 4 August, faces opposition from the American Chemistry Council, the lobbying arm of the plastic bag industry, reports The Portland Tribune. [+]
Posted 21 July 2010
In less than six months, Maui county's ban on plastic bags will take effect, reports KHON2.[+]
Posted 21 July 2010
US grocer Fred Meyer will stop offering customers in it's Portland stores plastic bags on 1 August, 2010. The stores will remove the bags early in order to get feedback from customers ahead of the expected eventual ban being considered by City Council, reports Fox 12 Oregan.[+]
Posted 30 June 2010
Queenslanders are letting down the country in the push to rid supermarkets of plastic bags, the latest statistics show. The Sunshine State has the lowest rate of use of reusable shopping bags of any state or territory, an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey has revealed, reports brisbanetimes.com.au. [+]
Posted 14 June 2010
The fight against plastic bags in Pittwater has suffered a setback with some businesses turning down the council’s suggestion of a ban. A report instead suggested a community education program for residents not to use plastic bags for bin lining, because they are not recyclable and contaminate contents that could be composted, reports The Manly Daily. [+]
Posted 07 June 2010
One million fewer plastic bags may end up in landfill during the next six months, thanks to a new environmental scheme, reports The Manly Daily. [+]
Posted 04 June 2010
While Australian shoppers hang on to their single-use plastic bags, California has banned the evil conveyances while retail giants such as WalMart and Japan's Jusco are paying more than lip service to alternatives, writes The Australian. Scroll down to "Cardia Bioplastics." [+]
Posted 20 August 2009
Bangalow Basics stocks all kinds of yummy fresh and processed healthy food, but from now on it all comes strictly in a paper bag or a cloth bag brought from home, writes Byron Shire News.[+]
Posted 11 June 2009
Cigarette butts, plastic bags and discarded drinks packaging make up almost two thirds of all the rubbish collected from the world’s oceans, blogs Courier Mail writer Graham Readfearn.[+]
Posted 01 May 2009
Retail giant Target will ban plastic bags in its 283 Australian stores next month. It will be the first large retailer to break ranks and ban bags on environmental grounds, reports the SMH.[+]
Posted 23 April 2009
Ahead of a vote on August 18 about whether to introduce a plastic bag levy, the 'Bagmonster' mascot was in Seattle educating the public about plastic bag pollution, the Seattle Times reports. [+]
Posted 23 April 2009
A chain of supermarkets in Western Canada will stop handing out plastic bags from July 2009, local media reports. [+]
Posted 21 April 2009
There is growing pressure in New Zealand for supermarkets to start charging customers for plastic bags, reports TVNZ. [+]
Posted 17 April 2009
EcoWorldly's Delhi correspondent believes that the plastic bag ban in Delhi needs better implementation if it is to be considered a success. [+]
Posted 17 April 2009
The Guardian in the UK speaks to Rebecca Hosking from Modbury for the best method for people to rid their own town of plastic bags. [+]
Posted 14 April 2009
ABC News reported that from 4 May 2009 non-biodegradable plastic bags will be banned from supermarkets, preventing 400 million bags going to landfill each year. [+]
Posted 07 April 2009
The Telegraph quotes new figures claiming 9.9 billion 'carrier' bags were distributed in Britain last year. [+]
Posted 03 April 2009
The Guardian reported in January 2009 on the ban of plastic bags in the Indian city of Delhi. [+]
Posted 02 April 2009
The Sligo Champion looked at the effects of 2002 Irish bag levy, five years down the track. [+]
Posted 31 March 2009
London's Councils want to ban plastic bags, as reported in 2007 by the UK newspaper the Telegraph. [+]
Posted 31 March 2009
China boldly announced a plastic bag ban in early 2008, as Reuters reported at the time. [+]
Posted 29 March 2009
Los Angeles aims to become the second city in the USA to ban plastic bags, reported press agency AFP in 2008. [+]
Posted 29 March 2009
The Irish government claimed plastic bag use was cut 90% following the 2002 introduction of a levy, reported the BBC back in 2002. [+]
Posted 29 March 2009
60 Minutes reported on the dangers of plastic pollution for marine life in 2008. [+]
Posted 16 December 2008
While placards and protests used to be the tools of trade for environmental activists, in Bangalow they use old sheets and curtains from an op shop, writes The Northern Star.[+]