Populous China gives thumbs up to global campaign against use of plastic bags
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/science/080109/g010913A.html
Germany, Ireland Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have all taken steps by either banning or charging fees for plastic bags. Other cities in Canada, Britain and the US (most notably San Francisco) have instituted municipal level actions like the ones mentioned. It would be funny if China would ban the use of bags in their own country and then continue to make bags for the rest of the world...
EDIT: 100th post!
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| BEIJING - Declaring war on the "white pollution" choking the world's most populous country, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old - steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers on Wednesday.
The measure eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources. Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness. "If we can reduce waste and save resources, then it's good both for us and the whole world," said college student Xu Lixian, who was buying tangerines out of cardboard boxes at a sidewalk stall. The ban takes effect June 1, barely two months before Beijing hosts the Summer Olympic Games, ahead of which authorities have been demolishing run-down neighbourhoods and working to clear smog. Under the new rules, businesses will be prohibited from manufacturing, selling or using bags less than 0.025 millimetres thick, according to the order issued by the State Council, China's cabinet. The council's orders constitute the highest level of administrative regulation and follow-through is carefully monitored. BEIJING - Declaring war on the "white pollution" choking the world's most populous country, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old - steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers on Wednesday. The measure eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources. A Chinese man uses plastic bags to carry his goods in Beijing. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Andy Wong Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness. "If we can reduce waste and save resources, then it's good both for us and the whole world," said college student Xu Lixian, who was buying tangerines out of cardboard boxes at a sidewalk stall. The ban takes effect June 1, barely two months before Beijing hosts the Summer Olympic Games, ahead of which authorities have been demolishing run-down neighbourhoods and working to clear smog. Under the new rules, businesses will be prohibited from manufacturing, selling or using bags less than 0.025 millimetres thick, according to the order issued by the State Council, China's cabinet. The council's orders constitute the highest level of administrative regulation and follow-through is carefully monitored. Continue Article More durable plastic bags will still be permitted for sale by markets and shops. The regulation, dated Dec. 31 and posted on a government website Tuesday, called for "a return to cloth bags and shopping baskets to reduce the use of plastic bags." It also urged waste collectors to step up recycling efforts to reduce the amount of bags burned or buried. Finance authorities were told to consider tax measures to discourage plastic bag production and sale. Internationally, legislation to discourage plastic bag use has been passed in parts of South Africa, Ireland and Taiwan, where authorities either tax shoppers who use them or impose fees on companies that distribute them. Bangladesh already bans them, as do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages. Last year, the northern Manitoba town of Leaf Rapids became the first in Canada to ban plastic bags. Other communities were planning or considering similar legislation. San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban petroleum-based plastic grocery bags last year. In France, as in parts of Canada, supermarket chains have begun shying away from giving away plastic bags. German stores must pay a recycling fee if they wish to offer them. Ireland's surcharge on bags imposed in 2003 has been credited with sharply reducing demand. In Beijing, the elderly proprietor of a combined clothing shop and grocery shop, who gave only his surname, Wang, said the Chinese measure could reduce sales initially but would be beneficial in the long run. "It's a bother, but these bags really do create a lot of pollution, so it should be a good thing," said Wang. He said the measure would make little difference to his costs since he spends just 10 yuan - about US$1.35 - a month on bags. Xu, the college student, said the move showed China was serious about joining global efforts to stem environmental deterioration. "I think this really shows that China is being a responsible country," said the 21-year-old. Employees at larger supermarkets and convenience stores said they were unclear on the measure and did not know what their employers' response would be. The regulation comes as Beijing steps up efforts to fight pollution that has accompanied China's breakneck economic growth. Factories and plants that churn out low-cost products for the world's consumers have severely fouled the country's air and water. The order continues a years-old campaign against plastic waste, or "white pollution," that initially targeted the plastic foam lunch boxes whose decaying shells were once ubiquitous in China. Shopkeepers started handing out cheap, flimsy plastic bags to customers about 15 years ago, roughly the same time that China shifted from being a net oil exporter to being a net importer. In recent years, large western or Japanese-style supermarkets have begun to supplant traditional markets, eliminating the need for shoppers to bring their own bags. "Our country consumes a huge amount of plastic shopping bags each year," the State Council said in a statement. "While plastic shopping bags provide convenience to consumers, this has caused a serious waste of energy and resources and environmental pollution because of excessive usage, inadequate recycling and other reasons," the statement said. Plastic shopping bags are given out with even the smallest items, although the statement gave no estimates as to the specific number of bags consumed in China or the potential savings in terms of the petroleum used to produce them. In the United States, which has less than one-quarter of China's 1.3 billion people, the Sierra Club's Sierra magazine estimates almost 100 billion plastic bags are thrown out each year. The Sierra Club estimated that if every one of New York City's eight million people used one less grocery bag per year, it would reduce waste by about 2.3 million kilograms. The environmental group Greenpeace issued a statement welcoming the Chinese ban. "The State Council's announcement to ban free plastic bags is a perfect case to combine the two of the major forces in environment protection: public participation and government policy guidance," Greenpeace said. |
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/science/080109/g010913A.html
Germany, Ireland Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have all taken steps by either banning or charging fees for plastic bags. Other cities in Canada, Britain and the US (most notably San Francisco) have instituted municipal level actions like the ones mentioned. It would be funny if China would ban the use of bags in their own country and then continue to make bags for the rest of the world...
EDIT: 100th post!
); THEN, incentive people to carry their own stuff on carts, and you've nearly solved that part of the issue.