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October 15, 2008 11:29:53 PM CDT

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Stories related to: plastic bags

Stories

10 Stories

  • September 2008

    • Reusable Bags: A Tricky Shade of Green

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 27, 08 5:54 AM CDT

      Reusable Bags: A Tricky Shade of Green

      (Newser) - Reusable shopping bags are this year's “it” giveaway, but they may not be as green as their feel-good slogans—like “Save the world” and "I used to be a plastic bag"—claim. The problem is that old habits die hard—many people simply forget to reuse them, the Wall Street Journal reports. And that's troublesome because the trendy bags take 28 times more energy to produce than a traditional plastic bag, decompose slower, and often arrive on oil-powered transport from China . More »

      Tags

      Google  • environment  • Wal-Mart  • environmentalism  • Target  • green  • plastic bags  • retailers

  • July 2008

    • Seattle Slaps 20¢ Fee on All Grocery Bags

      Seattle Post-Intelligencer  |  Jul 29, 08 5:20 PM CDT

      Seattle Slaps 20¢ Fee on All Grocery Bags

      (Newser) - Seattle has staked out its spot atop the greener-than-thou pecking order by approving a 20-cent-per-bag fee that applies to both paper and plastic, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The move is expected to cut disposable-bag use in half. "The best way to reduce waste is not to create it, and today, we have made that a little easier in Seattle," said the mayor. More »

      Tags

      Seattle  • plastic bags  • waste

    • Baltimore Opts Against Plastic Bag Ban

      Baltimore Sun  |  Jul 22, 08 2:49 PM CDT

      Baltimore Opts Against Plastic Bag Ban

      (Newser) - A law that would have made Baltimore America’s second plastic-bag-free city got a resounding thumbs down from the city council last night, the Baltimore Sun reports. The council ixnayed the bill, 11-3, citing concerns over the cost and environmental impact of paper bags. “I know there has been a lot of pressure on this bill," said the measure’s main sponsor. "I think they're wrong about this." More »

      Tags

      environment  • global warming  • Baltimore  • Maryland  • plastic bags

  • March 2008

    • Plastic Bags Getting the Sack Across US

      USA Today  |  Mar 15, 08 8:42 PM CDT

      Plastic Bags Getting the Sack Across US

      (Newser) - The party's over for plastic bags, USA Today reports. A San Francisco ban on petroleum-based bags already has imitators from coast to coast. Massachusetts is eyeing a bill that would "nudge" consumers with a 2-cent tax on each bag; Connecticut could slap retailers with a $1,000 fine for using non-biodegradable sacks. More »

      Tags

      New York City  • environment  • San Francisco  • Massachusetts  • Connecticut  • ban  • plastic bags  • paper bags

  • February 2008

    • Tax Helped the Irish Bag Plastic

      New York Times  |  Feb 6, 08 12:13 PM CST

      Tax Helped the Irish Bag Plastic

      (Newser) - "Paper or plastic?" is perhaps the last question you'll hear on the Emerald Isle, thanks to a 33-cent tax on each plastic bag that cut Irish consumption by 94% within weeks of its 2002 enactment, reports the New York Times . Cloth bags have become downright fashionable since, but strong manufacturer and merchant opposition has hindered similar efforts in Britain and LA, and laws elsewhere have met mixed results. More »

      Tags

      environmentalism  • taxes  • Ireland  • plastic  • plastic bags  • supermarket  • landfill  • paper bags

  • January 2008

    • Whole Foods Sacks Plastic Bags

      Austin American-Statesman  |  Jan 23, 08 10:51 AM CST

      Whole Foods Sacks Plastic Bags

      (Newser) - After Earth Day on April 22, customers at any of Whole Foods' 270 stores will be taking home their groceries in a paper bag—unless they bring their own bag, reports the Austin American Statesman's Business Blog. The chain, concerned about the environment, is phasing out plastic bags. Experts say it's a bold move, but one that others may follow. More »

      Tags

      environment  • plastic  • Whole Foods  • plastic bags  • grocery stores  • paper bags

    • Beijing Bans Plastic Bags

      Associated Press  |  Jan 9, 08 10:03 AM CST

      Beijing Bans Plastic Bags

      (Newser) - The Chinese government says it will prohibit stores from distributing free, disposable plastic bags starting this June, reports the AP. Amid growing fears about the environmental future of the world's largest nation, Beijing is asking people to use baskets or cloth carriers instead of the thin plastic bags that been dubbed "white pollution," as they clog garbage dumps and litter the landscape. More »

      Tags

      China  • environment  • pollution  • plastic bags

  • December 2007

    • Africa Nations Move to Ban Plastic Bags

      Christian Science Monitor  |  Dec 2, 07 6:55 PM CST

      Africa Nations Move to Ban Plastic Bags

      (Newser) - With garbage rotting in the streets and being burnt in toxic bonfires, many African countries are looking to ban plastic bags. Kenya produces 48 million every year, and is now trying to follow Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda by outlawing them. In Nairobi’s slums, bags even clog channels leading out of toilets, creating a “stomach churning mass,” the Christian Science Monitor reports. More »

      Tags

      Kenya  • Nigeria  • ban  • Tanzania  • plastic bags  • Nairobi  • Uganda

  • November 2007

    • London About to Sack Plastic

      Independent (UK)  |  Nov 14, 07 5:30 AM CST

      London About to Sack Plastic

      (Newser) - The ubiquitous free plastic bag will soon be more than London merchants can handle. That's because Council officials yesterday voted to ban London retailers from handing out the free sacks, sending the matter to the House of Commons for a final ruling. The London bill would require shoppers to use sturdy reusable plastic "bags for life" or cotton or string sacks. More »

      Tags

      environmentalism  • plastic bags  • Big Brother

  • March 2007

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