Enact Global Plastic Bags Ban, says UN Environment Chief

by cyn.khoo | June 9, 2009 at 02:33 pm

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Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, called for a global ban on plastic bags, Monday, June 8.

"Single use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere. There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme. His office advises U.N. member states on environmental policies.

Steiner's declaration accompanied a UNEP report that identifies plastic as the most pervasive form of ocean litter. According to the report, "Plastic, the most prevalent component of marine debris, poses hazards because it persists so long in the ocean, degrading into tinier and tinier bits that can be consumed by the smallest marine life at the base of the food web."

Such a ban is being tested in China, where transgressors may be fined up to $1,464. A national survey reported that the number of plastic bags handed out in grocery stores fell by 40 billion after the law was implemented. Ireland has reduced use of plastic bags by 90 percent through a per bag levy. In the US, San Francisco has established a plastic bags ban, while Los Angeles is set to implement one in 2010 and Washington, DC, will soon vote on a five-cent-per-bag tax.