Interesting article at Salon.com

"Plastic bags are killing us"

"The most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, the lowly plastic bag is an environmental scourge like none other, sapping the life out of our oceans and thwarting our attempts to recycle it."

This sentence makes me wonder: "Following the lead of countries like Ireland, Bangladesh, South Africa, Thailand and Taiwan, some U.S. cities are striking back against what they see as an expensive, wasteful and unnecessary mess."

Thailand?

Check it out.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/

Biodegradable plastic bags atre the way forward.

I'm more concerned with the current methods employed in the disposal of 'Pampers', these things are real environment killers, imo.

i took part in the "preserve hua hin marathon" and everyone who completed received a plastic bag full of assorted goodies in smaller sealed plastic bags....

Paper bags aren't really a viable option here due to the condensation issues so recycling and re-use are the best options for plastic bag use. I often bring plastic bags to the store with me although I do get some strange looks. We do a lot of recycling in my neighborhood including plastic bags, styrofoam, cans, bottles, plastics, newspapers although I have observed that all trash is sorted in the truck anyway.

In the U.S.A. most chain supermarkets take back plastic bags for recycling.

More and more bags are being used made of vegetable produce that break down far more quickly.

I not only save all plastic bags from stores but carefully fold them and take them to my favorite local shops who greatly appreciate them.

Not to mention they make great hats, rain jackets, condoms, etc...

Not to mention they make great hats, rain jackets, condoms, etc...

Even the ones with the air holes to prevent suffocation :)

Seriously, we end up with dozens of the bl00dy things, even though we use them as bin liners etc. Wifey won't take used ones to Tesco although they do get re-used when visiting the market, where the vendors seem happy that we're saving them the cost of a bag

While I have a pack of black bags that I bought from one of the hypermarts, I re-use the shopping bags I get in my small kitchen trash container, and others around the house. I realize they may not be biodegradable (so sending them to the landfill is not helping in that regard), but I am re-using them!

If the hypermarts start using biodegradable shopping bags I'll be all set!

UC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6897828.stm

its not so hard to say 'no' to plastic bags. often i go to buy something which is inside a clear plastic bag (sticky rice for example) and then they try to stick that inside another plastic bag. no thanks.

try going to 7-11 and buying an ice cream. they try to put that into a plastic bag too when you are going to eat it straight away!

i like to take a 'pinto' when i go buy take away. the people in the market always comment on it when i take it and it saves on plastic bags.

i try to do my bit, but with over 60 million people in the country, i assume that at least 200 million (a very conservative guess) plastic bags are used every single day here. i cant save the world, but i can contribute.