Don't Use Plastic Bags

Many countries including South Africa, Ireland and Taiwan banned the use of plastic bags. In some states of America, shops are not allowed to offer plastic bags to shoppers. In France, many supermarkets are giving away fewer plastic bags. German stores who offer plastic bags must pay if they want the bags to be recycled.

Last year, San Francisco stopped the use of plastic bags in large grocery stores. It was the first U.S. city to ban the use of plastic bags. One environmental group guesses that Americans throw away almost 100 billion plastic bags each year. The group thinks that everyone should use fewer plastic bags. Imagine that each of New York City's eight million people used one fewer grocery bag a year. That alone would reduce the waste by about 218,000 pounds, the group says.

China also has a new law which says that stores can no longer give out free plastic shopping bags. It is designed to reduce pollution and waste. Their government is encouraging people to use cloth bags instead. Many people believe that this new law will change everything.

The new law says that supermarkets and shops cannot use the thinnest plastic bags anymore. It only allows shops to use more durable plastic bags. However, people are encouraged to use cloth bags and shopping baskets. It also makes garbage collectors to reduce the number of bags that are burned or buried. How? By recycling the plastic instead.

Shopkeepers in China started handing out cheap plastic bags about 15 years ago. Before that, most Chinese shoppers brought along their own cloth bags. Now, large supermarkets have become popular. They give out free plastic bags but the use of these plastic bags is harmful to the environment. Oil is used to make plastic bags and this creates pollution. The bags often end up in garbage dumps. Sometimes, the bags are burned which creates even more pollution.

"Our country consumes a huge amount of plastic shopping bags each year," said one government leader. "This wastes energy and adds to environmental pollution," the leader said.

China's move won praise from environmental organizations including Greenpeace. They also said that China is ahead of the U.S with this policy.