San Francisco To Expand Ban on Plastic Bags

Almost five years ago, San Francisco became the first American city to ban plastic shopping bags from supermarkets and chain pharmacies. Now the city is poised to expand that ban to all retail stores and

Portland Oregon is the Latest City to Ban Plastic Bags!

Plastic bags are the bane of every eco-minded person’s existence. They can’t be normally recycled, they’re made with polluting petroleum, they don’t breakdown in landfills —

San Jose Bans Plastic Shopping Bags, Biggest Ban in CA

In a sweeping 10-1 verdict, the San Jose City Council has officially banned all single use plastic shopping bags and barred retailers from giving away paper bags yesterday. The ban will take effect on

Egregious Packaging Hall of Shame: Plastic Bags Truly Do Suck

Each year nearly 380 billion plastic bags are used in the US — any only 7 percent of them are recycled. The plastic scourge clogs waterways and takes hundreds of years to break down into smaller

Plastic Bag Monsters Invade San Francisco to Support Bag Ban!

This week, California lawmakers are meeting to discuss monumental legislation that could banish plastic bags once and for all from The Golden State. To raise awareness for this landmark move, a hundred

New York Mayor Proposes Charge on Plastic Bags

Recently New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed that NYC begin charging shoppers 6 cents for each plastic bag issued at the register. The policy is the latest attempt by the city to go green and reduce

Los Angeles Bans Plastic Bags!

Welcome Los Angeles to the growing list of countries and municipalities that are taking a stand against plastic bags. Following in the footsteps of Australia, China, Israel, Melbourne, San Francisco and

KILL PLASTIC BAGS WITH TAXES: look to Ireland

Ireland plastic bag usage drops dramatically after plastic bag taxes are instated! With all the recent bans on plastic bags around the world, it’s natural to wonder just how effective all the bag

No More Free Plastic Bags in Israel

It looks like 2008 will keep up last year’s momentum of phasing out plastic bags whenever possible. Just as the new year rang, word came around that a bill had been introduced in Israel that would

China Bans Plastic Bags

It seems that plastic shopping bags are really on the way out. It started with San Francisco, Hong Kong, then Melbourne and other cities, and now, beginning in July, all plastic shopping bags in the

MELBOURNE BANS PLASTIC BAGS

Last July, Australia’s Victoria state legislation, home to Melbourne, announced legislation to put a levy of 10 cents on every giveaway plastic bag given at supermarkets. The move was seen as a

SAN FRANCISCO BANS PLASTIC BAGS

Photo courtesy of NY Times Next time you go grocery shopping in San Francisco, you won’t be hearing “paper or plastic” at the check out. As of this past March, San Francisco is

HONG KONG MOVES TO BAN PLASTIC BAGS

Lawmakers are closer to passing an environmental levy to cut plastic bag use in Hong Kong. “No Plastic Bag Day” campaigns may become permanent. According to a report released recently by Hong Kong’s