Did You Catch That? China Outlaws Plastic Grocery Bags

Plastic Bag Quad, originally uploaded by menlo.

Starting in July, China is outlawing plastic shopping sacks. I caught this news tidbit yesterday, but had to do a search to find any reference to it anywhere. (Canadian news article here.) It didn’t seem to hit “the mainstream media” that I could find.

How can a large country's NATIONWIDE environmental decision slip under the media radar?? Wow. But I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. The Associated Press put out a memo yesterday that "Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal." The media’s priorities are so skewed.

San Francisco has banned plastic sacks, as did Manotiba city Leaf Rapids. Did you know that Ireland, South Africa, and Taiwan place a tax on plastic shopping bags? If these countries can do it, why can’s the US? If we consider ourselves a leader, why aren’t we making small, yet sweeping policy decisions like this?

I’m a big proponent of the “vote with your wallet” mentality – by buying environmentally responsible products and rejecting those that aren't, the demand for such products grows to the point which manufacturers pay attention and heed to the critical mass.

Until plastic shopping bags are banned entirely, consumers need to invest in canvas, cloth, or alternative shopping bags. They’re so easy to use, why wouldn’t you?

Per the Christian Science Monitor’s article, “Home Energy Use Gets a Smackdown on Reality TV”, a recent American Psychological Association study indicated that people are more likely to make green choices if they think others are too. (interesting article about families competing to shrink their carbon footprints in the Northeast, if you’re interested).

So the next time you see someone in the store with reusable shopping bags, smile and say thank you. Perhaps the other people in line will take notice.