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Reuters/Mike Blake
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While Hawaii
was the last state to join the union, it recently became the first state to ban
plastic bags at supermarkets. All county-level laws prohibit stores from
handing out non-biodegradable bags.
The law went into effect on July 1 and covers
Oahu, the state’s most populated island. Oahu is the last island in the state
to bring the hammer of the law down on the bag, neatly locking it into place
with every other local government in Hawaii, according to Mashable.
RT.com report continues:
The ban contains several important exemptions,
such as bags used for the medical and sanitary purposes or the wrapping of
meat, fish and bulk items. Retailers caught using bags for non-exempt purposes
face heavy penalties ranging from US$100 to US$1000 per day in the case of
violation.
Retailers are encouraged to comply with the ban
by using recyclable paper bags, reusable bags or special biodegradable plastic
bags.
The measure occurred just in time, beating
California, which itself was just about to acquire the distinction of being the
first to ban plastic bags statewide after passing a law. However, a November
2016 referendum will have the final say on whether or not the legislation
actually takes effect.
Hawaii’s method is proof that banning the bag
isn’t something that needs to be passed down from a state legislature. The
environmental measure has also previously been implemented on the municipal
level like in cities like Chicago, Illinois and Portland, Oregon. Washington,
DC and other localities charge a tax for each paper or plastic bag used at food
stores.
Plastic bags aren’t biodegradable, and less than
one percent of plastic bags are recycled. Even when they are, it costs more
than producing a new one.
“There's harsh economics behind bag recycling: It
costs US$4,000 to process and recycle one ton of plastic bags, which can then
be sold on the commodities market for US$32,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the
director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment, according to Temple
University’s Office of Sustainability.
South Africa, Rwanda,
Zanzibar, and the French island of Corsica have all banned throwaway plastic
bags.
EU Parliament Backs Drastic Cuts To Irrepressible
Plastic Bag Use
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Reuters/ Ciro Luca
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In April this year, RT.com had reported that the
European Parliament has adopted new rules aimed at reducing the pollution
stemming from irrepressible use of plastic bags. Shoppers will be obliged to
use re-usable bags, less hazardous for the environment, or pay extra at the
counter.
Once the rules are confirmed later this year, the
28 member states will be required to reduce the use of plastic bags by some 80
percent by 2025.
The states will have a choice of which route to
take to achieve the set target. The first choice is for shoppers to reduce the
use of “non-biodegradable plastic bags to 90 lightweight bags per citizen
by the end of 2019 and 40 by the end of 2025,” the EU Parliament press
release reads.
The second choice is to just stop giving out
plastic bags over the counter completely by the end of 2018.
“The European Commission said that countries
should deal with the matter themselves, but in fact they are not! 740 million
euros per annum, according to the Commission's own calculations, will be
saved,” MEP Margrete Auken said
“This is a huge step forward in tackling the
plastic waste in Europe's oceans that kills thousands of marine animals each
year,” said Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder.
The new rules would also make the European
Commission responsible for assessing the environmental impact of “oxo-degradable
plastic materials.” The Commission will later use the data to propose
proper labeling and marking measures for biodegradable and compostable plastic
bags.
“This legislation will create a genuine win-win
situation” said Margrete Auken. “We’re talking about an immense environmental
problem. Billions of plastic bags end up directly in nature as untreated waste.
It damages nature, harms fish, birds, and we have to get to grips with this.”
The EU Parliament argues that most store is in
the EU use lightweight plastic bags that are thinner than 50 microns. Because
of their thinness they are less likely to get reused in the future, and get
thrown away, thus polluting the environment.
According to official estimates, five years ago
each European national used 198 plastic carrier bags, 90 percent of which was
thinner than 50 microns. Of the 100 billion bags consumed in the EU, an
estimated eight billion plastic bags were discarded as litter in 2010. In
Denmark and Finland only four bags are used per person per year while in places
like Slovakia and Portugal that number is 100 times higher.
It takes five seconds to manufacture the bag,
five years to use it, but an astonishing 500 years to decompose. The
Parliament's TV states that 94 percent of birds in the North Sea have fragments
of plastic bags in their stomachs. Other animals and mammals across the EU
mistakenly ingest the plastic believing it to be an edible treat. Many die as a
result.
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