Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags

In various parts of the world, there has been a phase-out of lightweight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags are usually distributed (for free) to customers by stores when purchasing goods. It is a popular method that is practiced in many countries for being a strong, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Lightweight bags are commonly made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic.

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

A car could drive about 11 metres on the amount of petroleum used to make a single plastic bag. In Australia alone 6 billion HDPE  bags were used in 2002. Usage reduced to 5.6 billion in 2004, and 3.9 billion in 2007. Plastic bags can block drains, trap birds and kill livestock. The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags. In India, an estimated number of 20 cows die per day as a result of ingesting plastic bags and having their digestive systems clogged by the bags. It’s is also very common across Africa to have sewers and drain systems clogged by bags which cause severe cases of malaria due to the increased population of mosquitoes that live on the flooded sewers. The term white pollution has been coined to describe the local and global effects of discarded plastic bags upon the environment.

Governments all over the world have taken action to either ban the sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags or generate taxes from the stores who sell them. Major countries such as Rwanda, China, Taiwan and Macedonia have a total ban on the bag. In the United States only cities and counties have outlawed their use; however in September 2014, California became the first state to pass a law imposing a ban.

Issues
Plastic bags cause many minor and major issues in geographical terms. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and are aesthetically displeasing.

When disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. If not disposed of properly the bags can pollute waterways, clog sewers and have been found in oceans affecting the habitat of animals and marine creatures.

Lightweight plastic bags are also blown into trees and other plants and can be mistaken for flowers by animals affecting their diet. Plastic bags break down, but they never biodegrade. As a result, any toxic additives they contain—including flame retardants, antimicrobials, and plasticizers—will be released into the environment. Many of those toxins directly affect the endocrine systems of organisms, which control almost every cell in the body. Research shows the average operating 'lifespan' of a plastic bag to be approximately 20 minutes. Plastic bags can last in landfill - an anaerobic environment - for up to 1000 years.

Botswana
Botswana introduced a levy on plastic bags that became effective in 2007. This lead to many retailers charging a fee on plastic bags and consequently a reduction in plastic bag use.

Eritrea
Eritrea banned plastic bags in 2005.

Kenya
Kenya banned the manufacture and import of plastic bags from January 2011 as a way to protect the environment. The 2007 ban intended for plastics below 30 microns failed after manufacturers and retail outlets threatened to pass on the cost of using other materials to consumers.

Mauritania
Mauritania banned the use, manufacture and import of plastic bags from January 2013 as a way to protect the environment, livestock, and marine species.

Rwanda
Rwanda prohibited shops from giving away plastic bags to their customers in 2004.

South Africa
Plastic bags were a major issue in South Africa before the bag levy was introduced in 2004. Although lightweight plastic bags were banned, this was never enforced and they remain heavily in circulation still today. The thicker plastic bags are taxed and although this move initially caused outrage for consumers, this inconvenience has long been forgotten and consumers use about 8 billion plastic shopping bags every year. http://www.econrsa.org/papers/p_papers/pp18.pdf

Tanzania
The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar banned plastic bags in 2005. Tanzania introduced a nationwide ban on plastic bags in 2006.

Uganda
Uganda introduced legislation in 2007 to ban the sale of lightweight plastic bags under 30 µm thick and tax thicker bags at a punitive rate of 120%. Although the laws came into effect in September of that year, they have not been enforced and have failed to measurably reduce the use of plastic bags.

Bangladesh
A strict ban was introduced in Bangladesh in 2002 after the occurrence of floods from 1988 to 1998 that submerged two-thirds of the country in water. The cause was from littered plastic bags. But plastic bags remains a big problem for sewerage system and waterways.

China
A total plastic bag ban on ultra thin plastic bags and a fee on plastic bags was introduced in China on June 1, 2008. This came into effect because of the problems with sewerage and general waste. The country now uses over 50% fewer plastic bags saving roughly 40 billion a year.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong forbids retailers from giving plastic bags under a certain thickness and for free. The use of plastic bags dropped 90% after the introduction of the levy.



India
In 2002, India banned the production of plastic bags below 20 µm in thickness to prevent plastic bags from clogging of the municipal drainage systems and to prevent the cows of India ingesting plastic bags as they confuse it for food. However, enforcement remains a problem.

The state of Goa has banned bags up to 40 µm thick, while the city of Mumbai bans bags below a minimum thickness to 50 µm.

Israel
In 2008 a bill imposing a charge on plastic bags passed through the first reading in the Knesset but did not become a law. The average use of plastic bags in Israel in 2014 was 275 per person per year.

Malaysia
Malaysia enforce taxes on plastic bags on every Saturday since 2011 in state of Selangor.

However, in Penang, taxes on plastic bags applies everyday.

Myanmar
In 2009, plastic bag factories in Rangoon were ordered by local authorities to stop production by the end of November or face heavy punishment, as the Burmese government looked to ban plastic bags. Rangoon was thus following in the footsteps of central Burma's Mandalay and the new capital Naypyidaw, both of which had eliminated plastic bags.

Taiwan
In January 2003, Taiwan banned the free distribution of lightweight plastic bags. The ban prevented the owners of department stores, shopping malls, hypermarkets, convenience stores, fast food restaurants and regular restaurants from providing free plastic bags to their customers. Many stores have replaced plastic with recycled paper boxes. In 2006, however, the administration decided to begin allowing free plastic bags to be offered by food service operators.

European Union
In November 2013, the European Commission published a proposal aiming to reduce the consumption of lightweight (thickness below 50 microns) plastic carrier bags. Under the proposal, EU member states can choose the most appropriate measures to discourage the use of plastic bags. On 16 April 2014 the European Parliament passed a directive to reduce plastic bag use by 50% by 2017 and 80% by 2019.

Denmark
In 2003, Denmark introduced a tax to retails for giving out plastic bags. This encouraged stores to charge for plastic bags and pushed the use of reusable bags. It was thought that this saved about 66% of plastic and paper bags. In 2004, a similar law was passed by the Inatsisartut in Greenland, which applied a recycling tax on plastic bags. By 2014 Denmark had the lowest plastic bag use in Europe, with 4 bags per person per year, compared to 466 in Portugal, Poland and Slovakia.

Germany
All stores in Germany that provide plastic bags must pay a recycling tax.

Ireland
Ireland introduced a €0.15 tax in March 2002. Levied on consumers at the point of sale, this led to 90% of consumers using long-life bags within a year. The tax was increased to €0.22 in 2007. The revenue is put into an Environment Fund.

Italy
In January 2011, Italy banned the distribution of plastic bags that are not from biodegradable sources.

United Kingdom
Major supermarkets in the UK introduced "bags for life", reusable bags that customers are encouraged to use instead of disposable plastic bags. In 2010 research was published that showed the potential for such bags to be harmful to health if not cleaned regularly, with traces of E.coli and salmonella discovered by researchers from the University of Arizona.

Wales
Wales introduced a legal minimum charge of 5 pence for almost all single use bags in October 2011. Paper and biodegradable bags are included in the charge as well as plastic bags, with only a few specific exemptions - such as for unpackaged food or medicine supplied on an NHS prescription. VAT raised from the charge is collected by the government. Retailers are asked to pass the rest of the proceeds on to charities. July 2012 statistics released by the Welsh Government suggested that carrier bag use in Wales had reduced since the introduction of the charge.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland introduced a 5 pence levy on almost all single use bags on 8 April 2013. The levy will be extended to reusable carrier bags with a retail price of less than 20 pence from 19 January 2014 as data from a number of retailers indicate that reusable bag sales have increased by 800% since the introduction of the levy on single use bags. The proceeds of the levy (£4.17m in 2013/14) are paid to the Department of the Environment and used to fund local environmental projects and enforce the levy. Official statistics for the Northern Ireland levy show that the number of single use bags dispensed fell from around 300 million in 2012/13 to 84.5 million in 2013/14 - a reduction of 72%.

Scotland
A five pence minimum charge for single-use carrier bags came into force in Scotland on 20 October 2014. The proceeds of the charge can be used by the retailers as they see fit. VAT will be collected by the government on every bag sold. The charge applies to bags of all materials, including those which are biodegradable. Bags for drugs, aquatic animals or containing goods bought on board a ship, train, aircraft, coach or bus will be exempt from the charge.

England
England, where no such charge is currently imposed, experienced a rise in usage in 2012. A 5 pence minimum charge for single use plastic bags is due to be introduced in England in October 2015 but will only apply to retailers with more than 250 employees. Unlike the rest of the UK, the English charge will not apply to paper bags or bags made from other natural materials.

United States
While the territory of American Samoa, and the state of California have banned bags, there is currently no national plastic bag fee or ban currently in effect in the United States. Over 100 counties and municipalities have enacted ordinances either imposing a fee on plastic bags or banning them outright. California passed a law prohibiting their use in September 2014. Other attempts at banning plastic shopping bags state-wide (for example in Massachusetts) have not succeeded mainly due to plastic industry lobbying. A few jurisdictions have chosen to implement a fee-only approach to bag reduction by imposing a tax or a fee, such as Washington, D.C. and adjacent Montgomery County, Maryland.

Notes:
 * The San Mateo County Environmental Impact Report also studied six cities in neighboring Santa Clara County. Campbell, Los Altos, Los gatos, and Mountain View opted to join San Mateo County's ordinance because of this.
 * The City of Fort Collins, Colorado passed a 5¢ fee on single-use bags on August 19, 2014, and repealed it on October 21, 2014.
 * Although the state of Hawaii does not ban plastic bags, all of its local jurisdictions do, effectively banning them statewide.

Canada
In Canada, the Toronto City Council voted to ban plastic bags, beginning January 1, 2013. Toronto city council voted on June 6, 2012, to ban plastic bags effective January 1, 2013, and to scrap the city's five-cent bag fee starting July 1, 2012. Industry groups have convinced city officials to include a grace period between January 1, 2013, and June 30, 2013, when no fines, only warnings, can be issued. The bag ban and five cent fee (six cents with HST) have both been overturned as of November 28, 2012 and it's up to individual retailers if they want to charge for plastic bags. Most stores, with the exception of a few national retailers do not charge.

Mexico
Mexico approved legislation to ban and fine plastic bags in August 2010. However, the legislation is not observed. Plastic bags are one of Mexico's biggest pollution problems.

Australia
Although the nation does not ban lightweight bags, the states of South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT and Northern Territory, along with some cities have independently banned the bag. Coles Bay, Tasmania was the first location in Australia to ban the bag. The introduction of the 'Zero Waste' program in South Australia led to its lightweight bag ban in October 2008. It is estimated that 400 million bags are saved each year.

New Zealand
The government has not implemented measures to significantly lower the amount of bags, but some independent retailers have taken the approach to charge for plastic bags. In Christchurch, a kerbside program has been established to collect bags on roads and parklands to be recycled. As of 2011, Our Seas Our Future in Dunedin was campaigning to ban single use plastic bags.

Alternatives
Most lightweight bags are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE). A reusable but generally short-lived alternative is bags made from thicker low density polyethylene (LDPE), which are more expensive to produce. Bags can also be made from biodegradable materials that will generally break down quicker than HDPE. A common material is cornstarch.

Non-disposable alternatives include traditional shopping bags such as the string bag, shopping trolleys (not supermarket trolleys, but a soft bag mounted on a frame with wheels and a handle), and rucksacks.