What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?

San Francisco has become the first US city to ban ordinary plastic shopping bags, joining South Africa, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Paris in the scheme. Instead, retailers must give the customers a choice of paper or cloth bags as well as offering biodegradable bags made from corn by-products. The ban gives large retailers with annual turnover of $2 million or more six months and larger pharmacies a year to make the switch to the more eco-friendly bags.



Do you think that this is a good move? Personally, I'm glad to see that people are taking action on environmental problems.What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?Excellent idea.

We were on holiday in France last summer and they do not provide plastic bags - or any bags - at the checkouts.

They sell large heavy-duty bags which you re-use forever. They only cost about 拢1. We bought 2 and use them when shopping back home.

About time we did the same in the UK, I'm tired of seeing carrier bags in the hedgerows and in the street.



Edit: To all the people moaning about cutting trees down to make paper bags - that is not the issue. There are loads of alternatives to thin supermarket carrier bags. If you buy a sturdy plastic bag it can be used for months and the shop will swap it when it rips and ensure the old one is recycled. Then there are fabric, hessian bags that last for ages.What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?
we've had a government levy on plastic bags here in ireland for a few yrs now-you can either use a bag-for-life bag or buy a plastic bag for 15c. it worked great at the start but now they are gonna put the price up cos no one minds paying for their bags anymore..What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?Plastic shopping bags are made from recycled plastic, what will happen the plastic that is not going into the bags now?What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?
Sounds good to me. I like to carry my own fabric shopping bag with me.What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?Yeah sounds like an important step
I can't see any benefit to plastic. During times where I am feeling the most peace and connection with God, plastic seems very out of place; I am thinking maybe it has had something to do with the space program-but would a sane and logical person risk his or her life in that way? Courage is one thing but it seems to be suicidal behavior to get into a combustible flying machine! Plastic has no permanent place in my life, other than what is forced upon me; but everyone loves books, which are also made of paperWhat do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?
Yes i think it's a great idea. I do my food shopping online (don't have a car), and they come and deliver it in about 50 plastic bags. If everyone does the same, why aren't we suffocating???
Yes but I am rather confused. We used bags before but because everyone was in a rage about cutting down more trees they went to plastic. What is the difference now?What do you think about these cities banning plastic bags - good idea?
It looks like another case of the government telling us what is best.

Nothing is free, there are trade offs in everything we do.

You use the plastic bags and effect the habitat of some seal or bird or whatever. Use the paper bags and contribute to our forests being cut, which effects wildlife habitat, plus not as much carbon dioxide can be absorbed from our atmosphere. In my opinion, nothing that man can do to this planet will permanently harm it. The earth is in a constant state of change, and has been since God made it.

It is not the government's job to tell me what kind of shopping bag I can or cannot use.
I think it's about time. People here n the UK not only donot use too many,more than they need, they chuck them everywhere %26amp; misuse them.

It's about time.
Its a twisted situations because now what..back to cutting down more tree's for the paper bags. Doens't seem right which either way you go
I think it's okay as a contributing environmental policy. Plastic bags can be seen as a wasteful, unnecessary pollutant to the environment and landscape (depending on where you live). With practical alternatives such as 'bag-for-life' and fabric bags, sustainable attitudes can be encouraged.



Unless... you re-use the bags as rubbish bags - then surely there is not an issue, for you would be buying plastic bin-liner bags anyway-? If the issue is biodegradability, then all such bags -carrier and bin- should be made from biodegradable cellulose material. But then that would omit the use of petroleum, and that's probably the real issue.

Having said that, there is no widescale incentive to re-use if the bags are given out free and in abundance.
Ever seen a paper mill? I'm not sure that is so good for the environment either
Cool! I thought they weren't giving out bags at all. Thanks for clearing that up for me. That's a smart thing to do. More cities should start.
yes, let's cut down what few trees we have left, to make paper bags
Stop whining about trees, its not just paper..
Greate idea we should go back to brown recicled paper bags.
Anything that helps the environment is a good thing.



We re-use heavy duty carriers each week when we shop.

You just have to get into the habit of remembering to take them
Yes, If people gradually stop using them, there will be less demand for companies to make them, and so less need to make more plastic from the earth's limited resources. People should use and reuse their own bags and think ahead a little when they go shopping and bring a proper (and maybe much nicer) designer-type bag with them.