Plastic Bag Syndrome

While there are not much reports available for us about what will be the effects of Plastic Bags on our health, there is a possibility for you to experience this so called Plastic Bag Syndrome. Plastic Bags Syndrome is something related to pressure on our neurovascular causes a temporary Ischeamia around the distal part of our finger coupled with a neuropraxia of the digital nerves. I believe that this so called Plastic Bags Syndrome is a result of too much relying on plastic bags in our everyday life in whatever you are doing. I have seen someone always going around with plastic bags on her finger to carry her things and that certainly one day will lead to this Plastic Bag Syndrome.

The result of Plastic Bag Syndrome is not something you will need urgent medical assistance and often forgotten but in some cases a medical advice is sought. Normally one will feel the discomfort or numbness is fleeting but so far I really think there are no serious cases reported so far. Whatever it is you should not think it is not something you should forget about. The injury on your finger can lead to permanent damage and subsequent limitation in the use of your finger. The public should be informed about this fact and must advice then to take simple precaution which is we should stop using plastic bags right now. Don't you think not being able to use your fingers is funny? It is not and I want to tell you to stop using plastic bag starting by today.

How to fold eco-friendly bags

Ecobags sometime looks bulky and that is the reason why many people refuse to use it. Actually if you are creative enough you can fold them into an attractive looks and small. The video below is one example about how to fold the ecobag.

Good luck and let us save our mother earth, avoid plastic bags.

Shades of Green - 10 Simple Ways to Cool the Earth

Shades of Green - 10 Simple Ways to Cool the Earth
By: Sue Brenner, Performance Coach and Author

You already know that global warming is serious and that we collectively need to do our part to cool it. But that doesn't mean you have to pitch a tent in the woods and drink your water from a stream. Here are 10 simple ways to cool the earth, from carrying your own water bottle to car pooling. Do any or all of these and you'll feel good about doing your part to cherish the environment. And you might inspire others to do the same.

1. Pack your own water.

Rather than buying a plastic bottle every time you need a sip, pack your own H2O. Sturdy, reusable bottles last and are easy to clean. Fill your water bottle up at the office or gym water cooler, or filter your water at home. You’ll save money while you spare the earth, and you won’t need to find a place to recycle your disposable plastic water bottles.

2. Switch light bulbs.

Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DeCaprio encourages everyone to switch bulbs. Replace standard household and office light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. They cost less than $4 U.S. and are made by major companies. You’ll pay more up front, but will save about $60 U.S. for the full life of the bulb. Why not join in? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that if all American households swapped 5 light bulbs with fluorescent ones it would save the amount of energy equivalent to removing 8 million cars off the road. Another alternative—install dimmers on your lights. Create romantic mood lighting while reducing carbon dioxide.

3. Skip the solo drive.

At least one day per week, ditch the lone commute. Ride your bike, carpool, take the Metro or tele-commute. Mexico City has a law that requires each vehicle to be parked—and off the road—one specified day per week. In many places throughout U.S., such as the San Francisco Bay Area in California, find a carpool pal by calling 511. Or, if you'd prefer to find a carpool buddy within your own company, encourage your HR department to look into innovative programs such as ridespring.com. RideSpring, a web-based service, makes carpooling a cinch and even offers cool prizes to give people an extra incentive to curb single-driver commutes.

4. Kick the idle off.

Waiting for your carpool buddy outside the house? Cut the engine. When you turn your car off, you reduce the release of carbon dioxide. You save fuel too. Remove just 10 minutes of idling, and avoid putting 550 pounds of carbon dioxide in the air yearly. One woman, Lynn Romanek of Glencoe, Illinois, rallied parents to turn their engines off during kid drop-off and pick-up times. You can lead the way in your community.

5. Carry a portable coffee mug.

How many times a day do you dash to the coffee shop and bring a paper cup back to your office? Invest in a ceramic or stainless steel mug to reuse every day. Lots of coffee shops sell them. Your company store probably sells them too. Why not add one to your birthday list? They're easy to carry and easy to clean. Use your mug in your car, on the train or during a walk to work. You can drink your favorite hot beverage in style while treading gently on the earth.

6. Keep the plastic off your clothes.

Add these two easy steps to your dry cleaning routine: (1) bring a garment bag to the cleaners; (2) insert your own hangers into the bag. Have the cleaner put your clean clothes on your own hangers in the garment bag instead of using plastic covers. Pop your clothes straight into the closet when you get home, save the dry cleaner money and spare the earth. If you have extra wire hangers in your closet, take them back to the cleaner to be reused. You can also explore the growing trend of green cleaners, such as greenearthcleaning.com, who use non-toxic solvents.

7. Reduce packaging.

While you’re losing the plastic on your clothes, limit other packaging as well. Sometimes you can find cereal in just a plastic bag, rather than cardboard and plastic. Purchase in bulk. Buy from local farmers’ markets using your own bags. Use concentrated items when it comes to laundry detergent and cleaners. Simple Green is a good concentrated nontoxic cleaning option. Along with your paper grocery bags, bring back those small plastic veggie bags for re-use too. Move beyond the days of tearing off a new bag at the store for your lone zucchini. Some things can just sit on top of other food.

8. Buy recycled paper towels.

When you buy paper towels for the office or home, why not grab the recycled option? Also opt for recycled toilet paper, tissues and napkins. (Or use cloth.) The average American uses 6 napkins a day. If everyone started by cutting out just one of those, or using a 100% recycled one instead, it would save about a billion pounds of paper waste a year. More and more stores now offer recycled paper products. If yours doesn’t, request recycled items or order online from sites such as ecoproducts.com.

9. Don't trash your cell phone.

Or other electronics. Prevent landfills from turning into seas of gadgets. Mobile phones alone pile up 65,000 tons of waste and leak toxins such as mercury and lead into the soil. Sell your equipment on eBay, donate or recycle it. One entrepreneur says, "I'm amazed at how easy it is to sell old electronics on eBay. I sold a slide projector and computers... all stuff I had outgrown." You can also donate your items to non-profits. Try call2recycle.org or collectivegood.com—a company that supports groups like the American Red Cross. If you simply want to pass on something to someone else, use freecycle.com. It’s a resource for people who want to give away their stuff for free.

10. Bring your own grocery bag.

Do grocery bags build up in your home? They do in other households too. Americans use nearly 100 billion plastic bags per year. Most of those bags don't get recycled. Bring a canvas shopping bag instead or reuse the bags you already have. You can also pick up canvas bags at local grocers and from environmental groups when you make a donation. Put a canvas bag with a few brown bags inside it in your trunk. Have them ready and at your fingertips when you need them. Form a new habit. Using your own bags is easy!

By now you can see that you don’t have to sell all of your belongings and live in a tent to help preserve the environment. Pick one change you’re committed to making and begin practicing it. Whether it’s packing your own water bottle, bringing a canvas bag to the market or passing your cell phone on to the next user, each step you take does make a difference. Take action today so that we can savor the earth for generations to come.

Good News: Affrica Bans Plastic.

I was having a cup of coffee this morning before my computer monitor when I accidentally stumbled upon this wonderful news. Several African countries has taken a bold new measure by banning plastic to tackle and solve their plastic problem. Apparently some of the African countries are severely affected by this increasing amount of plastic waste in most of the big city like Lagos in Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya.

According to Sarah Simpson (Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor) plastics now are more than a nuisance. Blocked sewers help spread disease. Farmers complain that precious livestock are choking to death on plastic bags, ruining their livelihoods, while rubbish-strewn streets and countryside are counter-productive for Kenya's tourism-based economy. This situation I believe not only putting people life in danger but also will tarnish the image of the respective country.

The move to ban plastics is indeed very much appreciated and welcomed. I believe more countries in the world should follow by imposing a total ban on plastic. Please refer to the article below about this good news. I know that switching to ecobags will not be able to solve the problem 100% but being able to reduce or to stop plastic bags from further harming our environment is very important.

Clogged by plastic bags, Africa begins banning them

Several African countries have taken bold new measures to tackle the region's severe waste-management problems.

By Sarah Simpson | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Lagos, Nigeria; and Nairobi, Kenya - Once a month, John Ebiwari drags an iron rake through the open sewer that runs in front of his house in Nigeria's sprawling commercial capital of Lagos and scoops out the discarded plastic bags that block the flow of bubbling black filth.

On the last Saturday of each month Lagos police officers armed with big sticks make sure residents fulfill their legal duty and clean up their neighborhoods for 'Sanitation Day.'

The clean up provides a minimum of order in Lagos. But, in a move more drastic than seen in most Western countries, several African nations are tackling the scourge by banning or restricting use of plastic bags.

The United Nations estimates that only 10 percent of rubbish in Africa makes it to dumps, with the rest left to rot in communities or burned in acrid bonfires.

As Africans increasingly live in cities, waste management has become a real development problem.

Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda have passed laws banning or restricting the use of a main culprit: the ordinary plastic grocery bag.

By the end of the year, Kenya is expected to follow suit.

More than 48 million plastic bags are produced in Kenya each year, according to the UN.

"We need to ban these flimsy plastic bags, which we only use once and dispose of, because all of them make their way into the environment," says environmentalist Joseph Gondi of Kenya's prominent Green Belt Movement, founded by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. "You may collect them and say you are taking them to the dump site, but we do not have well managed landfill sites here in Kenya."

The bags are more than a nuisance. Blocked sewers help spread disease. Farmers complain that precious livestock are choking to death on plastic bags, ruining their livelihoods, while rubbish-strewn streets and countryside are counter-productive for Kenya's tourism-based economy.

A clean-up is under way. Five years ago the downtown area of Kenya's capital Nairobi was dirty and unkempt, say residents.

But an army of street cleaners, lots of new litter bins, and a tree-planting program – spearheaded by the Green Belt Movement – have had a dramatic impact for the better.

The government has already passed legislation that will usher in a 120 percent tax on plastic carrier bags and packaging, and a ban on plastic bags less than 30 micrometers thick.

On the outskirts of the spruced-up city center, well away from the safari routes of khaki-clad tourists, most of Nairobi's 3 million residents live in slums.

"Plastic bags are a big problem, one of our worst in life today," says Khamasi Josephat Bandi who lives and works for a small charity in Nairobi's Kibera slum. He supports the proposed ban, and deep among the tin shacks, where pit latrines empty into a broad sewage channel, it's easy to see why.

The channel, which before it became clogged with rubbish was regularly flushed clean by rain, is a stomach churning mass of feces and plastic bags. When the rains come, standing water is a breeding ground for malarial mosquitoes.

"Plastic bags only recently came to Kenya," says Gondi. "Only 15 years ago, women shopped with baskets, and I remember buying fish and sweet potatoes wrapped in banana leaves, not a flimsy plastic bag."

In Nigeria, where plastic bags are legal, women prepare and sell food that customers take away in plastic bags so thin many items have to be double wrapped.

The only affordable clean drinking water comes in plastic sachets, too. Deola Asabia, who runs an environmental charity in Lagos, says there is little hope of a ban on plastic bags in Nigeria until the population has access to clean drinking water.

"The government realizes that they can't get rid of plastic bags," says Mr. Asabia, because without access to clean drinking water "people would be up in arms."

Asabia and other members of her church have set up a charity called Changing Our World Foundation, which has adopted the Obalende neighborhood of Lagos, where Ebiwari was cleaning.

With sponsorship from a local bank and cooperation with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, they're making sure that Sanitation Day is as widely adhered to as possible.

Jute Shopping Bags Made In India

Awareness to use ecobags is getting more and more public attention nowadays. It can be seen whereby many more countries around the world are actually promoting and encouraging its citizen to switch to ecobags for shopping to reduce the usages of plastic bags. India one of the most populated country in the world is also introducing ecobags made of Jute. They called it Jute shopping bags.

Jute shopping bag is made of Jute. Jute is a long. soft, shiny vegetables fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the Genus Corchorus from the family of Tiliaceae. Since Jute Shopping bags are made from vegetables fiber so it is biodegradable shopping bags or product.

I hope that more and more Indian people use this Jute shopping bags for their shopping to reduce plastic wastes in India. A member of Green Peace in India Mr. Robert Edwards said the plastic bags are now chocking the life out of India. I believe the plastic bags waste situation in India is very bad at the moment. It is high time now for us to switch to something more eco-friendly products like jute shopping bag in out daily life.

Don't wait until it is too late. Some symptoms started to appear in India where it is approximately 100 cows died everyday for mistakenly eating discarded plastic bags. So are we to wait the same thing happen to human being too?

3 Insulated Aqua Color Tote Bags.

"Love, love, love these bags! The construction is impeccable - extra sturdy stitching at handles, rigid bottoms in cloth bags, and the insulated totes REALLY keep things cold - especially if the grocery is not the last trip on your list - the Velcro closings insure that cold stays in and heat stays out (or vice versa). An added plus is how much these babies hold - at least twice the amount of the grocery plastic bags"... S.Thompson (USA)

"I've used the bags several times now. I can fit a lot of groceries in just 5 bags, and they each can carry a heavy load. I haven't really ops tested the hot/cold bags--haven't had anything in them longer than from the store to my house, but I plan to use them as "coolers" for outings"... Steelied (Taxes, USA)

Those are some of the costumer comments about the new 3 Insulated Aqua Color Tote Bags + Reusable Grocery Tote Bag 5 Pack Combo, Includes 4 New Spring/Summer Colors +1 Printed "A World of Thanks". Several sizes are available like 15x12 Aqua, 20x16+08 Aqua, 14x16 Aqua, Plus 5 Reusable Grocery Totes to cater for your shopping needs.

Insulated totes keep cold food cold for up to 3 hours and secure Velcro closure and 3 ply construction are some of the best part about this particular reuseable shopping bags. That makes this particular reusable shopping bags are ideal for cold drinks, frozen foods, party trays, fresh subs, outdoor, and sporting events. Having this special reusable shopping bags will helps to reduce the demand for plastic bags. Let do something to make our Planet Earth free from plastic bags.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRODUCT

New Reusable Grocery Tote Bag 5 Pack Combo

If you are looking for Reusable Grocery Tote Bag (RGTB) here new design available for you. This Reusable Grocery Tote Bag is available in four(4) color which is Olive, Latte, Black, Hunter Green and printed "A World of Thanks". Perhaps you will feel proud having one of those as some contribution to save our Planet Earth. Every time I use my reusable grocery tote bags it make me like to tell the whole world about how good a person I am. Haha.

This RGTB is design to with large capacity measures which is 12.5"W x 8.5"D x 13.5"H. It is also durable light weight material is made of 100% non-woven polypropylene, compact and washable. You can use it for very long time. Rack loop for easy loading at store checkout and sturdy bottom insert are some of its outstanding quality descriptions about this RGTB Ecobags.

Some public comments about RGTB:
"I used the bags for the first time today and everywhere I shopped people commented positively on how nice they are. They were shipped quickly and exceeded my expectations. They worked very well for groceries (they include a hook for the plastic bag dispenser) and for other shopping needs. The price is reasonable and they pack well. Oh, and CYMA included a gift as well!" By: Janet (Dalton, PA USA)

"I purchased a set as a gift and a set for myself. They met "gift-quality" expectations. They arrived a few days before Amazon's estimated arrival date with a free tote and a CYMA pen. The plastic inserts fit perfectly in the bottom of these bags. They carry well and look great. The hooks on the back work well for hanging the bag on the grocery store bagging hooks.

To get an idea on the size, it is about the same size as the average paper grocery bag, but with nice handles for easy carrying. I recommend these bags." By: Rachel Miller (Roma, Italia)

Instead of using buying or getting plastic bag every time we go for shopping it is wise for you to have a reusable bag. Let join hands to save our environment.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FREE SAMPLE OF THE PRODUCT

100% Cotton Canvas Grocery/Multipurpose Tote Bag

If you are looking for Ecobags please make sure the items that you are going to buy is the right one. There is one new 100% cotton grocery or multipurpose tote bags available now. Size available is 7.5 inch flat bottom. The price are cheap plus free shipping to your doorstep. I have one of this for myself at home. I normally use it whenever I going to do some shopping to the nearby store. Because it is made 100% from cotton, you can actually fold it and put it in your pocket.

I just bought it last week and I still don't know how long more I can use it. Anyway if this can last for several months I consider it very good already since the price is cheap. May be I just buy several pieces for everyone in my house next time.

What costumer says about this product?
"The bags are wonderful, and just the right size - nice and big! They arrived promptly. I would definitely buy from these folks again. :)" .... Cindy M.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW YOUR FREE SAMPLE OF THIS PRODUCT.

Expandable Reuseable Bags

Get Your Ecobags Today HERE

One of the most popular ecobags available in the market recently is Expandable Reuseable Bags which is very good for your shopping needs. With this bags you don't need plastic bags anymore. You can use it for a very long time as this design is quite durable. I use mine like 3 months already and it is still pretty strong. I think it is hight time now that everybody should get use to use ecobags for shopping. It is really disgusting to see people comes out from the supermarket plastic bags. Let us together save the earth. Stop using plastic bags.

Get Your Ecobags Today HERE

Replacing The Golden Gate Bridge With Plastic Gate Bridge

I got an idea. Since it is so hard to educate people to stop using plastic bags we might be as well should replace the scenic Golden Gate Bride with Plastic Gate Bridge. Hey, I am not kidding. I am telling you a damn clear facts and truth. US has enough supply of plastic bags to replace the mighty San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge with plastic bags bridge. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. If you think 100 billion of plastic bags is not a problem then I would like to suggest to you to go to the Golden Gate Bridge and jump down off the bridge. We do not need people like you so ignorant and hard headed. Let see if the sea water down there can end your life or not. Seriously I am so damn mad every time I see people dumping plastic bags around like this earth is belong to him or her alone.

One other thing is probably we should decorate the mighty bridge with plastic wastes. We collect all the plastic bags and hang them on the bridge. This will probably can become an eye opener to the government to enforce a total ban on the use of plastic bags. Enough is enough!

Happy EARTH DAY!!

Wow.. so it is April, 22 today. I nearly forgot that today we are celebrating EARTH DAY (ED). Actually every year I never fail to join the environmental group in my area to celebrate ED but I am sad as I was too busy and wasn't able to join them. They have a tree planting session this morning near the beach. After the tree planting there will be another activity which is to clean the beach and some children environmental drawing competition.

So because I didn't able to join their activity to celebrate the ED I will take this opportunity to talk about ED in my blog so that many people will read it worldwide to reach more people to love our environment.

Some brief history about ED.

Founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network (EDN) promotes environmental citizenship and year round progressive action worldwide.

Earth Day Network is a driving force steering environmental awareness around the world. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect, interact, and have an impact on their communities, and create positive change in local, national, and global policies. EDN's international network reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, while the domestic program engages 5,000 groups and over 25,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental protection activities throughout the year. Earth Day is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a half billion people participate in our campaigns every year.

ED mission is to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. There are many program devised to pursue ED mission through education, politics, events, and consumer activism.

So as a good citizen of the world what we can do to day to support the ED is to play our individual roles. Started from today you should stop using plastic bag. Happy EARTH DAY !!

How Hard It Is To Change People Mindset.

Do you know that changing people mindset is the hardest thing to do? I have been talking about not using plastic bag with my friends and family members,when they go for shopping but you see people are still so ignorant. Last week I went to supermarket to but some fruits. And I brought with me my reusable environmental friendly bag in my pocket. When I went to the counter to pay I told the cashier that she doesn't have to put those fruits into a plastic bag as I have my own bag. She insisted to put them into plastic bag for some reason which are to make it easier for the security guard at the door to look at it and she also told me that it was the company policy. Only when I insist to see the manager on duty then she let me use my own bag. That cost me a beautiful 10 minutes arguing with her. What a waste of my time and that company should be closed down for not being supportive to reduce the use of plastic bags.

Plastic Bags Are Killing The People of United State

In my previous posts I was talking about how plastic bags has become a major problem in China and how Chinese government is trying to put a stop on the problem. We have learn that recently Chinese government has stepped up their efforts by passing a law to ban plastic bags and in some provinces in China they charge costumer for the plastic bag. Failing to do so the retailer will face harsh action from the government under the new law.

That is China. We are happy that the country with billions people are now working hard to solve the problem. Now we will have a look what is going on in America one of the most developed nation in the world. it was reported that US also facing the same problem about the plastic bag. Let me give you some news about what is going on in US.

www.salon.com
By Katharine Mieszkowski

Aug. 10, 2007 | OAKLAND, Calif. -- On a foggy Tuesday morning, kids out of school for summer break are learning to sail on the waters of Lake Merritt. A great egret hunts for fish, while dozens of cormorants perch, drying their wings. But we're not here to bird-watch or go boating. Twice a week volunteers with the Lake Merritt Institute gather on these shores of the nation's oldest national wildlife refuge to fish trash out of the water, and one of their prime targets is plastic bags. Armed with gloves and nets with long handles, like the kind you'd use to fish leaves out of a backyard swimming pool, we take to the shores to seek our watery prey.

Dr. Richard Bailey, executive director of the institute, is most concerned about the bags that get waterlogged and sink to the bottom. "We have a lot of animals that live on the bottom: shrimp, shellfish, sponges," he says. "It's like you're eating at your dinner table and somebody comes along and throws a plastic tarp over your dinner table and you."

This morning, a turtle feeds serenely next to a half submerged Walgreens bag. The bag looks ghostly, ethereal even, floating, as if in some kind of purgatory suspended between its briefly useful past and its none-too-promising future. A bright blue bags floats just out of reach, while a duck cruises by. Here's a Ziploc bag, there a Safeway bag. In a couple of hours, I fish more than two dozen plastic bags out of the lake with my net, along with cigarette butts, candy wrappers and a soccer ball. As we work, numerous passersby on the popular trail that circles the urban lake shout their thanks, which is an undeniable boost. Yet I can't help being struck that our efforts represent a tiny drop in the ocean. If there's one thing we know about these plastic bags, it's that there are billions and billions more where they came from.

The plastic bag is an icon of convenience culture, by some estimates the single most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, numbering in the trillions. They're made from petroleum or natural gas with all the attendant environmental impacts of harvesting fossil fuels. One recent study found that the inks and colorants used on some bags contain lead, a toxin. Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they've been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It's equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.

Only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled worldwide -- about 2 percent in the U.S. -- and the rest, when discarded, can persist for centuries. They can spend eternity in landfills, but that's not always the case. "They're so aerodynamic that even when they're properly disposed of in a trash can they can still blow away and become litter," says Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. It's as litter that plastic bags have the most baleful effect. And we're not talking about your everyday eyesore.

Once aloft, stray bags cartwheel down city streets, alight in trees, billow from fences like flags, clog storm drains, wash into rivers and bays and even end up in the ocean, washed out to sea. Bits of plastic bags have been found in the nests of albatrosses in the remote Midway Islands. Floating bags can look all too much like tasty jellyfish to hungry marine critters. According to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, more than a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from eating or getting entangled in plastic. The conservation group estimates that 50 percent of all marine litter is some form of plastic. There are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. In the Northern Pacific Gyre, a great vortex of ocean currents, there's now a swirling mass of plastic trash about 1,000 miles off the coast of California, which spans an area that's twice the size of Texas, including fragments of plastic bags. There's six times as much plastic as biomass, including plankton and jellyfish, in the gyre. "It's an endless stream of incessant plastic particles everywhere you look," says Dr. Marcus Eriksen, director of education and research for the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which studies plastics in the marine environment. "Fifty or 60 years ago, there was no plastic out there."

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. This year, San Francisco and Oakland outlawed the use of plastic bags in large grocery stores and pharmacies, permitting only paper bags with at least 40 percent recycled content or otherwise compostable bags. The bans have not taken effect yet, but already the city of Oakland is being sued by an association of plastic bag manufacturers calling itself the Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling. Meanwhile, other communities across the country, including Santa Monica, Calif., New Haven, Conn., Annapolis, Md., and Portland, Ore., are considering taking drastic legislative action against the bags. In Ireland, a now 22-cent tax on plastic bags has slashed their use by more than 90 percent since 2002. In flood-prone Bangladesh, where plastic bags choked drainage systems, the bags have been banned since 2002.

The problem with plastic bags isn't just where they end up, it's that they never seem to end. "All the plastic that has been made is still around in smaller and smaller pieces," says Stephanie Barger, executive director of the Earth Resource Foundation, which has undertaken a Campaign Against the Plastic Plague. Plastic doesn't biodegrade. That means unless they've been incinerated -- a noxious proposition -- every plastic bag you've ever used in your entire life, including all those bags that the newspaper arrives in on your doorstep, even on cloudless days when there isn't a sliver of a chance of rain, still exists in some form, even fragmented bits, and will exist long after you're dead.

My 2-cents: I think using paperbags is not good enough. Recycling efforts will only encourage people to use more plastic bag as they know somebody will take care about their plastic waste. what we need is a total switch from plastic bag to reusable ecobags.

Chinese Retailers In China, BEWARE!

It looks like the government of China is really looking forward to minimize plastic bags usage in China. A few days ago China has passed a law where Chinese retailer could be fine up to 10,000 Yuan or $ 1,428 if they are found giving shopper with free plastic bag. Now this is something we would like to hear. One other thing is that as an alternative China encourage its citizen to use reusable ecobags for shopping. We would soon will see China will be the main supplier of ecobags for the world market. I can see ecobags from China is already on display in some of the supermarket in the US.

www.chinadaily.com
Date: 2008-04-08 16:06

Chinese retailers could be fined up to 10,000 yuan ($1,428) for providing shoppers with free plastic shopping bags from June 1, the Ministry of Commerce has announced.

The maximum penalty, included in a new draft regulation, was sharply down from 30,000 yuan previously reported by domestic media.

The draft stated the prices of plastic bags could be set by shop owners themselves, but they should not be below cost.

Market places would be prohibited from offering discounts or using other methods to sell consumers plastic shopping bags at prices lower than those stated on the price tags. Free bags, even under other guises, would be banned.

Retailers would also have to list the number and prices of shopping bags separately on the sales documents given to consumers.

Supermarkets and stores violating the rules could be fined up to 10,000 yuan, while those failing to clearly price bags could be fined up to 5,000 yuan.

The regulation would not be applied to plastic packaging for the hygiene and safety of products like fresh and cooked food, said the draft.

The ministry has published the document on its website and will be seeking public submissions till April 14.

The move followed a ban in January on the manufacture, sale and use of ultra-thin plastic bags (defined as less than 0.025 mm thick) from June 1 as part of China's efforts to protect the environment and save energy.

Under the draft regulation, plastic shopping bags sold and used in stores must meet national standards. Markets would be fined up to 20,000 yuan if they failed to purchase the bags from legally-incorporated producers, wholesalers and importers, obtain related certificates and set up accounts for checks.

Meanwhile, retailers would be urged to offer conveniences for customers carrying their own shopping bags or baskets and encouraged to provide qualified, eco-friendly substitutes.

"White pollution" has become a growing concern for the government as Chinese consumers have been accustomed to carrying what they buy from shops with free plastic bags since shopkeepers began to offer them more than a decade ago.

The country's campaign against plastic bags led to the closure of the country's largest plastic bag manufacturer based in Central China's Henan Province in mid January. The factory previously had an annual output of 250,000 tons or 2.2 billion yuan in value.

Check also "There Is Other Alternative To Plastic Bag"

China Move To Ban Plastic Bag.

"China starts shopping bag charges under ‘Plastic Bag Ban’" written by Trina Tan, was the headline in an online news portal on 8th April 2004. China a country with billions of people is now aware that plastic bags usages in the country is not good for its people and the environment. Some provinces in China has started to enforced a total ban on plastic bag usages while other provinces make it compulsory that plastic bag as not to be given free so to educate the people not to overuse plastic bags and switch to reusable environmentally friendly bag. Below is part of the story I took from packwebasia.com

www.packwebasia.com
By Trina Tan
"CHINA – Under China's ‘Plastic Bag Ban’ retailers are obliged to impose charges for the supply of plastic shopping bags. Although the Law doesn't become effective until 1 June 2008, Tianjin province, in northeast China, has launched the country’s first pilot project to charge consumers for plastic shopping bags at major supermarket outlets. This is in advance of the 1 June 2008 implementation deadline for the Plastic Shopping Bag Law which bans the production, all retail outlets from handing out free plastic shopping bags."

Check also There Is Other Alternative To Plastic

My 2-cents: This is not good enough. We need them to punish those people who use plastic bags.

EcoBags or Plastic Bags?

Really, I know it is everybody's right to make a choice but you must know that people around you also has the right judge whether your choice that you choose was a wise choice or really stupid choice.

If you choose to use plastic bags when you go shopping especially in a country where plastic bags in the supermarket are given free, nobody will prosecute you in the court and instead you have the right to prosecute anybody whoever interfere your affair with your plastic bags. However I want to tell you that if you choose to use plastic bag while there are alternative for it like using reusable eco-friendly shopping bag you are the most stupid person in the whole world. You see you will looks very stupid when you come out from the supermarket with bunches of plastic bag in your left and right hand.

I think the alternative are available. EcoBags is available. If you don't have money to buy ecobags then you can use your reusable bag for shopping. It is our responsibility to keep our environment clean and green. Free from plastic bag. If you have had the opportunity to read my earlier post you will have to take note that in the US alone billions of plastic bags used every year. Can you imagine how many billions plastic bag used in the world? Each plastic bags will take 300 years to break down. Hey..you are dumping plastic bag everyday.

..*There Are Ways And Alternative For Plastic Bags..*

My 2-cents: Make it a habit to bring your own bags every time you go shopping.

Some Reason Why You Need To Stop Using Plastic Bags

The Facts

Do you know that every year, around 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. 500,000,000,000. Five hundred followed by nine zeros. That's is how much plastic bag used and polluting our earth. So many that over one million bags are being used every minute and they're damaging our environment. That figure actually is not very accurate as the world population is increasing every minutes as well. Of course you may say people also died every minutes but if you really look at the mortality rate and birth rate you may surprise that mortality rate is much lower. Medical technology is so good that it able to reduce the world mortality rate. If you love our earth and you care about it promise to yourself that from now on you must refuse to use plastic bag.

Let look at the next fact about plastic bag. Every man, woman and child on our planet uses 83 plastic bags every year. That's one bag per person every four and half days. Of those 500 billion bags, 100 billion are consumed in the United States alone. What about China and India. This two countries has the largest population in the world. I believe you can see more impressive figure from these two country.

The Problem - Pollution
Undoubtedly plastic bags are polluting our environment. Plastic bags are difficult to degrade (photo-degrade). It takes like 300 years for it to photo-degrade and even then it does not become soil. It just break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. Constant unnecessary use of plastic bags increasingly polluting our planet.

Everything which contains plastic element like big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags and a variety of other forms are all polluting our environment. They're lightweight, handy and easily discarded.

While they were rarely found during the 60s and 70s, their usage has increased at an alarming rate since they became popular during the 80s. Just take a look around you. Plastic bags can be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying in the air on windy days, settled amongst bushes and floating on rivers. They clog up gutters and drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs,mosquitoes and bacteria that cause diseases.

Plastic bags polluting our sea.
Plastic bags are not only polluting our land and rivers but most of them are washed away to the sea. According to research don't by some environmental agency plastic bags are among the top 12 items of debris most often found along coastlines ranging from Spitzbergen in the north to the Falklands in the south. Many sea life like turtle are killed by plastic bag. This is because apparently turtle cannot recognize the different between plastic bag and jelly fish. Plastic clogs their intestines and leads to slow starvation. Others become entangled in plastic bags and drown. Because plastic bag takes a very long time to break down, our sea become the home for all this plastic bag waste.

Some good news.
Some country like Ireland made some move by making sure taxes and levy be paid for plastic bags usage. Now the usages of plastic bag in Ireland has dropped by 90%. Several country already banned plastic bags and I am sure more will follow undoubtedly.

Environmentally Friendly Shopping Bags.
Every time you for shopping you will need shopping bag. The issue here is not to prevent you to use shopping bags but to encourage you to be more responsible towards out environment by using environmentally friendly shopping bag. Environmentally friendly shopping bag means the shopping bags are bio-biodegradable and it is easy to photo-degrade. These bags take about three years to break down into practically nothing and while that sounds like an attractive solution, the truth is that the process of breaking down these petrol based bags causes carbon to become methane which is a greenhouse gas.

Very Good Solution To Replace Plastic Bag For Shopping

My 2-cents: Change mindset, use biodegradeable shopping bags

Stop Using Plastic Bag Please!!

The World is now facing a very serious environmental problem which is global warming. As an individual we should ask ourself what can we do to help in making this world a better place to live in. Technology is very good but the creation of plastic shopping bag has become our major problem. Just look around and you will be able to see our rivers, beaches, sea,drainages and our land are full with plastic bag.

Why can't we stop the use of this plastic bag? Is it difficult to use something reusable bags for shopping? Do you feel happy our environment is being polluted with plastic bag? I am not happy about it. And this is why I have this blog. I want to share with you my unhappiness. I want to share with you the reason why we should change our attitude.

Some of you will probably will say" hey.. look even my president is using plastic bag for shopping". Well, so if your president is stupid and ignorant about our environment and you want to be as stupid and ignorant like him as well? Next time if you see him shopping with plastic bag at his hand you better take picture and put it on the internet. Get him down in the next election.

I know certain country has taken some initiative in banning the use of plastic bag. In America plastic bag is being banned in certain establishment in San Francisco, designer are stepping up and offering an alternative, reusable environmentally friendly shopping bags. These bags priced from as low as $1 and as high as $1200 are becoming the rage of the year, in fact people are standing in line waiting for Wholefoods to open to get their own designer bags by Anya Hindmarch. Labeled on the bag "I'm not a plastic bag" was priced at $15 but has been sold on ebay for as much as $800. Designers Stella McCartney, Castiglioni and Hermes also have created environmentally friendly shopping bags, priced at $495 (Stella McCartney, made from organic cotton canvas), $843 (Castiglioni) and $960 for a Hermes bag. It's obviously expensive to be green but there are cheaper options. Yes there are cheaper options. Just that it's all up to you to change your mindset.

Since the ban on plastic in San Francisco, Fashion-Incubator held a contest on designing an environmentally friendly shopping bag. The very first entry was a t-shirt bag (for link see below) which can easily made by anyone who has an old t-shirt. There is also 'Trader Joe' for $1.99 as well as many grocery stores are offering their own bags for as little as $1. There may be a price to being green but I think the price is worth paying for, look at these plastic bag stats from the San Francisco Chronicle:

This is some facts about plastic bag in San Francisco and the world. If you go to any developing country their rivers,sea almost everything is polluted with plastic bag.

180 million: Roughly the number of plastic shopping bags distributed in San Francisco each year.

4 trillion to 5 trillion: Number of non-degradable plastic bags used worldwide annually.

430,000 gallons: Amount of oil needed to produce only 100 million non-degradable plastic bags

The point is you don't have to go broke to be fashionable and you can feel good about saving our environment too. I know it is hard but I want to make some contribution by having this blog to reach as many people as possible to educate them not to use plastic bag anymore in their daily shopping. Help me spread the words let make the earth a better place to live in.

Find The Nearest Environmentaly Friendly Shopping Bag Store In Your Area