Wal-Mart stores in Mexico and United States have made an effort to reduce plastic bag waste and cost by introducing new and affordable reusable bags.

Check out this link:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/149720.asp

We hope that others are inspired to continue their push to reduce bag waste.

No news stories so far today, so I’ll entertain you all with a little anecdote:

Yesterday I was at one of my 4 local grocery stores. This is the only store of the 4 that offers reusable bags, and while I don’t buy theirs because I have my own (and mine are much nicer), it’s still not unreasonable to expect that the cashiers would have adjusted to the reality that some people bring their own bags.

Not so much.

I had three items, the largest of which was my ritual weekly tub of Cherry Garcia. The three things scanned and I passed the cashier my reusable bag. She proceeds to put the food into the plactic bag, which she then placed in the reusable bag, and all the while I’m not paying attention because I’m focused on my debit transaction. So she hands me the bag and I look inside, look up at her, and say, “Really? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?” And she shrugged.

The lesson is this: Cashiers – if you’re reading this (and I know some of you are) – the reusable bags are to replace the plastic bags; they’re not meant as a carry-all for them. If our goal is to reduce the number of plastic bags that we use, please help us achieve this. Sheesh!

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.

Peregian, a town on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, is going plastic bag-free as of January (though the launch of the campaign begins on Sunday). It follows the path of a number of other Australian communities (the first of which was Coles Bay, Tasmania) that have banned plastic bags.

Australia seems to be light years ahead of most other Western nations in their fight to combat plastic bags. Granted, the detrimental effects on ocean life are far more personal in coastal communities, but it’s still not something that should be taken lightly. Let’s get real here; Canada and the U.S. have coasts too!

What was once the fashion capitol of the world is now taking strides to be a global leader in another department: the environment.

An article found on PRW – The Plastics Industry News – suggests that while Paris had initially planned to ban non-biodegradable plastics as of 2010, a distribution ban could come into effect as early as 2007.

If this is actually the case, they would lead Europe in proactive measures against plastic bags. Currently, Ireland imposes a tax to consumers on every plastic bag that they use, Denmark charges a tax to retailers, and Switzerland requires supermarkets to charge for bags used. All of these measures have led to drastic behavioural changes such that now most shoppers bring their own reusable bags.

According to the Westmount Examiner, The Metro store is no longer automatically double-bagging heavier groceries unless someone expressly requests it.

It’s so simple. Because chances are good that in this neighbourhood of Montreal, most people have cars. And chances are also good that a bag with a 2L carton of milk won’t bust between the cart and the car, and between the car and the fridge.

So let’s think about that. We can estimate a lifespan of roughly 20 minutes for that plastic bag (and that’s including the car ride!) but then it will take up to 1000 years to break down in the environment. Doesn’t really add up. Cheers to Metro!

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…!