Reusable Shopping Bags Gaining Popularity as Anti-Plastic Movement Picks Up Steam

We've noticed for a while that an increasing number of retailers have been promoting reusable shopping bags as an alternative to plastics, so the news of major department stores getting into the act is hardly surprising. But, did you know that there are entire towns that have implemented bans on plastic bags? According to this article at Tree Hugger, Modbury became the first town in Europe to ban plastic bags in favor of reusable alternatives.

An entire town banning plastic bags is noteworthy, prompting me to take a closer look into this phenomenon. A few minutes of searching revealed that a global anti-plastic movement may be picking up steam: Ireland had implemented a plastax in 2002 that cut plastic bag use by more than 90% and the idea is rapidly gaining popularity in other countries such as Australia, Taiwan and Singapore. Several countries, including China, Bangladesh and Bhutan, have already imposed bans on plastic bags.

Unfortunately, the idea seems to be slow in gaining steam within the United States. Only a handful of U.S. cities and states have taken measures to reduce plastic bag use and to my knowledge, San Francisco remains the only city within the United States to have imposed a ban. The good news is that a few other cities are now considering bans of their own (Madison, MI and Arlington, TX). While, plastic bag bans will not solve all of our environmental pollution issues, it's a good start...so here's to hoping that the rest of the world will hop on the ban-wagon soon.