Source: CCTV.com

06-01-2008 15:41

Several other countries have already banned ultra-thin plastic bags. And others are planning to.

Several other countries have already banned ultra-thin  plastic bags. And others are planning to.

The English village of Modbury in south Devon became the first plastic bag-free town in Europe in May, 2007. London's 33 councils are planning to ban ultra-thin bag in 2009 and tax others. French lawmakers have voted to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags by 2010, but some stores have done so on their own. Ireland passed a plastic bag tax in 2002, the tax has created an initial 90 percent drop in bag use. In Italy, an outright ban will be introduced in 2010.

San Francisco became the first and only U.S. city to outlaw plastic grocery bags in April this year. The ban is limited to large supermarkets. The state of New Jersey is considering phasing them out by 2010, while New York City is forcing large retailers to recycle plastic bags.

In Bangladesh, discarded bags have been blamed for blocking drains and contributing to floods, the country banned them in 2002.

The Australian environment minister wants supermarkets to phase out the bags nationwide by the end of this year.

In Africa, Rwanda and Eritrea have banned plastic bags outright. Other countries including South Africa and Kenya have minimum thickness rules.

 

Editor:Liu Fang