Plastic bag ban

Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources (such as crude oil, gas and coal),[4] difficulties during disposal, and environmental impacts.

Improperly discarded bags have polluted waterways, clogged sewers and been found in oceans, affecting the ecosystem of marine creatures.

After disposed of, if exposed to consistent sunlight the surface of such plastic produces significant amounts of two greenhouse gases – methane and ethylene.

Furthermore, due to its low density/high branching properties, it breaks down more easily over time compared to other plastics leading to higher exposed surface areas and accelerated release of gases.

The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year[13] as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags.

[14] The term "white pollution" has been coined in China to describe the local and global effects of discarded plastic bags upon the environment.

[22] According to a 2019 review of existing studies, levies and taxes led to a 66% reduction in usage in Denmark, more than 90% in Ireland, between 74 and 90% in South Africa, Belgium, Hong Kong, Washington D.C., Santa Barbara, the UK and Portugal, and around 50% in Botswana and China.

[26][32] They are also viewed as less sanitary than plastic because they can bring germs from outside the store to high contact volume surfaces like carts and check out stands.

[281] In 2017 the cabinet secretary of Environment and Natural resources, Judi Wakhungu, banned the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging under Gazette notice number 2356.

[284] Plastic bags were banned in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland on 1 March 2005 after a 120-day grace period that the government had given to the public to get rid of their stocks.

The Ministry of Trade and Industries announced the cabinet decision in a decree titled: "Banning importation, production and use of plastic bags in the country".

To ensure the implementation of the ban, the government constituted enforcement teams in 2016 to conduct special drives which launch probes into business stalls.

An agreement was signed between the Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment and large supermarket chains in the country to enact the first phase of a process aiming to reduce the consumption of plastic bags.

[290] A strict ban was introduced in Bangladesh in 2002 after floods caused by littered plastic bags submerged two-thirds of the country in water between 1988 and 1998.

Street vendors and smaller stores, which make up a significant portion of retail in China, do not abide by the policy in part due to difficulties of enforcing the ban.

It refers to the color of white plastic shopping bags, styrofoam containers, and other light-colored materials that began turning up in visible volume in agricultural fields, the landscape, and waterways in the mid- to late 1990's.

[310][311] Metro Manila cities that have delayed imposing regulations and bans include Taguig, Caloocan, Malabon, Valenzuela, Navotas and San Juan, which are home to hundreds of plastics and rubber manufacturing companies.

[215] On 4 July 2019, Senator Francis Pangilinan filed a bill seeking to phase out single-use plastic products by prohibiting importation, manufacture and use in food establishments, stores, markets, and retailers.

[319] In November 2013, the European Commission published a proposal aiming to reduce the consumption of lightweight (thickness below 50 microns) plastic carrier bags.

[100][337] In 2016, the two largest chains of supermarkets in Switzerland, the Federation of Migros Cooperatives and Coop, announced that they will progressively stop to distribute free plastic bags (at the check-out).

[249] Migros previously tested the measure in the canton of Vaud since 2013: they reduced the number of plastic bags distributed by ninety percent (and saved 100,000 francs per year).

[271] Bags for unpackaged food, loose seeds, soil-contaminated goods, axes, knives or blades; drugs or medical appliances; small packaged uncooked fish, meat or poultry; aquatic animals; purchases made in aerodrome security restricted areas; or goods bought on board a ship, train, aircraft, coach or bus are exempt from the charge.

[355] In response to this criticism, in the UK government announced plans to extend the charge to all retailers and double it to 10p, which was expected to come into effect in April 2021.

[359] Industry groups have convinced city officials to include a grace period between 1 January 2013, and 30 June 2013, when no fines, only warnings, can be issued.

[383][384][385][386][387] On 17 September 2018, the Jamaican Cabinet announced a total ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution and use of single-use plastic bags, effective 1 January 2019.

[389] Plastic bags are banned in the following states: Baja California, Mexico City, Colima, Durango, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas.

[416][417] In 2009 the Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Daniel Scioli, approved Law 13868,[418] which mandated that by the end of that year, all non-biodegradable plastic bags should be phased out in favour of degradable materials.

[419][420] Other provinces like Neuquén, Chubut, Río Negro and cities like Rosario, Villa Gesell or Bariloche had already banned the distribution of plastic bags in supermarkets as well.

[421][422][423][424] In August 2018, the legislation was approved by Congress and the President,[425] making Chile the first Latin American country to ban plastic bags.

[430] In 2018, the Uruguayan Parliament approved the law No19655[275] that banned the production, importation and commercialization of all non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags throughout the country.