Bag Ladies around the World

Have you ever noticed that no one ever talks about "Bag Gentlemen"?

Since it's Earth Day, I thought I'd share part of an e-mail I received last week from Resource Recycling.

International plastic bag news update

News surrounding efforts to ban, tax or recycle so-called single-use, polyethylene plastic grocery bags continue to make headlines around the world.
Democratic California Assemblyman Mike Davis of Los Angeles introduced Assembly Bill 2829, which establishes a 25-cent fee on all plastic grocery bags and proposes the collected fees be used on litter prevention and reduction efforts. A competing bill was introduced by fellow Democratic Assemblyman Lloyd Levine. AB 2058 would levy a 15-cent fee on plastic bags and tie stores' ability to hand out plastic bags to increased diversion of the sacks, beginning with a 35-percent rate during a specified period, increasing with each subsequent year.
Also in California, AB 1972 disallows retailers from selling or distributing any plastic bags labeled as "compostable," "biodegradable" or "degradable," unless the bag meets standard American Society for Testing and Materials (West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) specifications for compostable plastics (D6400) or for non-floating biodegradable plastics in the marine environment (D7801). The measure passed unanimously out of the Assembly and has since been transferred over to the Senate.
Additionally, AB 2071 allows a locality, county or state entity to impose civil penalties, ranging from $500 to $2,000 per violation, against businesses failing to abide by the rules set forth by AB 1972.
Bakersfield, California City Manager Alan Tandy announced that the city will not be banning plastic bags, pointing to increased recycling rates statewide following the adoption of mandatory in-store recycling programs in the Golden State.
The Pico Rivera, California City Council voted to adopt Los Angeles County's plastic bag reduction program, which requires large grocery stores, retailers and pharmacies to curb plastic bag usage by 30 percent by 2010. The Los Angeles County program only applies to unincorporated cities and towns within the county; however, officials have asked incorporated municipalities, such as Pico Rivera, to join the program.
Pennsylvania House Bill 2198, which bans the use of plastic grocery bags in retail establishments, has been tabled by Committee, effectively killing the measure. The tabling follows efforts by its sponsor, Democratic Representative Lisa Bennington, to soften the bill, replacing the ban language with a mandatory recycling provision.
Anna Bligh, the premier of the Australian state of Queensland, has come out against a proposed levy on plastic bags, saying that "families face enough financial stress without being charged extra to carry groceries home."
Taiwan's Department of Waste Management released a study finding that its annual consumption of plastic bags averages 1.8 billion, with fewer than seven percent of that number being recycled.
The New York Post recently published a story called "Paper Bags: Roach City," which claims that paper bags' impact on humans is made greater by acting as breeding grounds for household cockroaches. The story goes on to say that roaches pose a greater human risk than plastic bags.
The Environmental Affairs Council (Sacramento, California) issued a press release announcing that it has filed an action with the Federal Trade Commission (Washington) asking it to investigate specialty grocer Whole Foods' (Austin, Texas) claims that its exclusive use of 100-percent recycled paper bags — over plastic — is better for the environment.
Lastly, this Saturday, April 19^th, Wal-Mart (Bentonville, Arkansas) is giving away one million reusable shopping bags in celebration of Earth Day.

It interests me that no one ever mentions that plastic and paper grocery sacks are reusable, let alone that the Albertson's grocery chain gives customers five cents credit for each bag (of any material) they bring themselves to carry their purchases.