Environment

China bans free plastic bags

by ppeggy | January 10, 2008 at 08:43 am

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I guess you have to start somewhere. This is one example that we all need to follow. But here, we're moving from the bottom up, not the top down. That is, the push to eliminate the use of plastic bags is coming from more environmentally-aware consumers. That's good, right?

During their country’s extraordinary transformation from agrarian society to industrial powerhouse in less than a generation, Chinese consumers eagerly embraced super-markets. With them came an exponential increase in the use of the ubiquitous plastic carrier bag: more than three billion are handed out each day.

But the practice is about to end. The State Council, China’s Cabinet, has ruled that on June 1 shops will be banned from handing out free bags, citing the environmental damage that they cause. It said: “Plastic shopping bags, due to reasons such as excessive use and inefficient recycling, have caused serious waste of energy and resources and environmental pollution.”

In the past, most Chinese would not venture out of doors without a cloth or netting bag tucked in their pocket to carry home their groceries, which would be wrapped up in paper.

But the ready availability of plastic bags in the new Western-style super-markets and traditional convenience stores has created an environmental nightmare. more....