I learned that when I was 10.

Browsing through some articles the other day, I came across a story that recalled an early childhood memory. My grade 6 teacher told me that “nothing need go to waste.”

Back in the day, I didn’t believe it to be true but the story of The Book Man in New Brunswick has not only inspired me but changed my mind.

Click out the link below:        

http://www.canada.com/chilliwacktimes/news/story.html?id=00372efd-be8c-40ab-af3a-d1ec37481e3d

Well, maybe I don’t. But did anyone else notice these little numbers in the Louis Vuitton Spring collection? Reusable shopping bags are the new black.

Once again, happy new year to all my loyal readers and reusable bag carriers!

Lots going on in the news, starting with the Irish Plastax levy being raised by 7 cents on January 1st. I really wish more countries would follow their example – not only are they on the right track, but they keep on updating their levy to ensure that people don’t start to get lazy on them.

Speaking of a tax, this was published on allAfrica.com, talking about why supermarkets charge so much for plastic bags in Mauritius, and that it shouldn’t be used as a fundraising tool. While I don’t really want to get into the numbers game, I’m a firm believer that if you charge people enough money for an elastic good, they simply won’t buy it. If plastic bags cost $1, everyone would bring reusable bags. It’s a consumer behaviour modification tactic, not a happy-go-lucky government money-grab, and I think they’ve got the right idea.

I love city officials with a sense of humour; especially ones that are Beatles fans. Chattanooga is introducing a recycling mascot named Rocky the Recycling Raccoon, to help encourage people to recycle and also to assist with public education initiatives. I guess Rocky is there to help with good recycling’s revival…?

And finally – I couldn’t have worded this better myself. Ok, maybe I could have. But it’s still nice to know that today’s youth are taking issue with plastic bags too.

A few news stories from the last week or so, that I’ve categorized for your reading pleasure.

The Great

- Australians support a ban on plastic bags. Currently there is legislation in place to phase them out in the near future but apparently that’s not soon enough. Amazing!

- A columnist for a local Hamilton paper has got the right idea. It’s good to see these concepts being discussed closer to home, and hopefully more people will catch on and open up the dialogue, because even just heading to work this morning I saw dozens of bags lining the sides of Toronto’s highways…

The Good

- Hong Kong and their monthly “No Plastic Bag Day” campaign has been extended into 2007. It’s so successful that they feel it’s worthwhile to continue with it. Lots of stats and facts in this one, but all pointing in the right direction.

- While I don’t necessarily agree that diverting business from stores that give away free plastic bags is the right course of action, it’s at least nice to see that communities can come together and rally behind a common cause, and at the same time, support the smaller stores.

 The Mediocre

It’s a start. If nothing else, it’s nice to know that you can take back your plastic bags to stores and they’ll recycle them for you. But it’s also a little disheartening to think that the plastics industry has SO much power and influence that they were able to dissuade San Franciscans from passing a Plastax (like the one in Ireland), something they had been contemplating for quite some time…

The Very Very Funny

Sure, it’s 9 years old. But for your entertainment: The Taliban prefer plastic bags over paper. I’m going to let you write your own joke…

Lots of international buzz over plastic bags over the last couple of weeks in the news. Wales is musing with the possibility of taking serious action, Zanzibar banned plastic bags, Hong Kong released survey results citing the efficiency of their monthly ‘No Plastic Bag Day’, and Scotland‘s main driver of a new Plastax intiative withdrew his Bill. (The onus and decision are now in the capable hands of the Scottish Executive’s court – we look forward to their decision!)

 But without a doubt, the best news item I stumbled across was this. A bra that doubles as a grocery bag, to encourage reuse. My goodness, they think of everything, don’t they?!

 Send us some of your most inventive ways to curb plastic bag waste. After this one, we’re pretty sure nothing will shock us, but we’re always in the mood to be surprised…!

Greenpeace has recently issued a report on the detrimental effects of marine debris on wildlife in the oceans. Their stunning report, full of statistics on how many species mistake plastic for food, and a region-by-region breakdown of how many pollutants are in the water, can be found here.

 For those of who who don’t feel like sifting through the 44-page report, here are some highlights and important points:

“The scale of contamination of the marine environment by plastic debris is vast. It is found floating in all the world’s oceans, everywhere from polar regions to the equator. The seabed, especially near to coastal regions, is also contaminated – predominantly with plastic bags. Plastic is also ubiquitous on beaches everywhere from populous regions to the shores of very remote uninhabited islands.” (p.5)

“It is the very properties that make plastics so useful, their stability and resistance to degradation, that causes them to be so problematic after they have served their purpose. These materials persist in the environment and are not readily degraded or processed by natural biological mechanisms.” (p.5)

“A review of entanglement and ingestion of marine debris by marine organisms conducted in 1996, showed that these phenomena had been know to affect individuals of at least 267 species worldwide. This included 86% of all sea turtles, 44% of all seabird species, 43% of all marine mammal species and numerous fish and crustacean species.” (p.13)

I highly recommend reading the full report. It paints a frighteningly clear picture of the damage that is being done on a daily basis and the long-term damage that is being created.

CNN also picked up on the issue when they discussed that the “swirling plastic vortex” is a menace to sea life. Here you’ll find another problem that plastics cause in the water system, which is very harmful to sea animals.

 This all goes to show that we’re clearly not the only ones who feel that plastic bags create huge problems around the world.

Progress is being made. Stay tuned – we’ll keep you posted.