User:Dajopas/Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags

The lightweight plastic bag is mostly distributed (for free) to customers by the stores when purchasing goods. It is a popular method that is practiced in many countries for being a strong, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Lightweight bags are commonly made from High Density Polyethylene plastic.

Governments all over the world have taken action to either ban the sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags or generate taxes from the stores who sell them. Major countries such as South Africa, China, Taiwan and Macedonia have a total ban on the bag.

Issues

Plastic waste on the mounds of garbage.

Plastic bags causes many minor and major issue in geographical terms. The most general issue of plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and are aesthetically unpleasing.

When disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. If not disposed of properly the bags can pollute waterways, clog sewers and have been found in oceans affecting the habitat of animals and marine creatures.

Lightweight plastic bags are also blown into trees and other plants and can be mistaken for flowers by animals affecting their diet.

Regional developments

Phase out of lightweight plastic bags around the world

  A full ban

  A partial ban

  A tax on some plastic bags

Africa

Kenya

Kenya banned the manufacture and import of plastic bags from January 2011 as a way to protect the environment.

South Africa

Plastic bags were a major issue in South Africa before the ban. All lightweight plastic bags were banned in 2003 and thicker plastic bagged are taxed.

Asia

Bangladesh

A strict ban was introduced in Bangladesh in 2002 after the occurrence of floods from 1988 to 1998 that submerged two-thirds of the country in water. The cause was from littered plastic bags.

People's Republic of China

A total plastic bag ban was introduced in China on June 1, 2008. This came into effect because of the problems with sewerage and general waste. The country now uses over 50% less plastic bags saving roughly 40 billion a year.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong forbids retailers from giving plastic bags under a certain thickness and for free. The use of plastic bags dropped 90% after the introduction of the levy.

India

In 2002, India banned the production of plastic bags below 20 micrometers to encourage the reuse of plastic bags and to cut down on plastic waste.

Taiwan

In January 2003, Taiwan banned the free distribution of lightweight plastic bags. This was thought to have failed as many stores replaced plastic for paper.

Europe

Denmark

In 2003, Denmark introduced a tax to retails for giving out plastic bags. This encouraged stores to charge for plastic bags and pushed the use of reusable bags. It was thought that this saved about 66% of plastic and paper bags.

Germany

All stores in Germany that provide plastic bags must pay a recycling tax.

Italy

In January 2011, Italy banned the distribution of plastic bags that are not from biodegradable sources.

North America

United States

In California, laws have been put into place to charge all customers for plastic bags at retail stores. San Francisco introduced a complete ban on plastic bags in 2007 with the exception of biodegradable bags. Other independent stores have taken action to cut down on the plastic bag consumption such as IKEA.

Mexico

Mexico now fines stores for giving plastic bags to their customers since August 2010. Plastic bags were one of Mexico's biggest pollution problem.

Oceania

Australia

Although the nation does not ban lightweight bags, the state South Australia and some cities have independently banned the bag. Coles Bay, Tasmania was the first location in Australia to ban the bag. The introduction of the 'Zero Waste' program in South Australia lead to a lightweight bag ban in October 2008. It is estimated that 400 million bags are saved each year.

New Zealand

Government have not implicated measurements to significantly lower the amount of bags, but some independent retailers have taken the approach to charge for plastic bags. In Christchurch, a kerbside program has been established to collect bags on roads and parklands to be recycled.

Alternatives

Most lightweight bags are made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and an alternative to them are Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) which are thicker and can be reused. LDPE is generally more expensive which majority of retailers will charge the customer to purchase the bag which usually decreases the amount of bags that are used.

Bags can also be made from biodegradable materials that will generally break down quicker than HDPE. A common material is cornstarch which has more elasticity and arguably stronger.