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!

In reading an article in the Daily Nation (Kenya’s newspaper), I came across this article in which Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai talks about how e-waste is a growing challenge in developing nations, especially those which lack the infrastructure to manage the e-waste.

Anyone else remember her from around a year and a half ago? She’s the one who helped lead the charge to ban plastic bags in Kenya. She cited research that claimed that plastic bags block sewers and drains, so the water just sits and stagnates. And if we remember anything from our Ministry of Health commercials each summer, it’s that stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitos which may carry West Nile Virus, or in Kenya, Malaria.

It might sound a little bit counter-intuitive, but Canada sure could take a page from Kenya’s book on this one.

I find myself reminded of the McDonald’s Hot Coffee lawsuit in the mid-90′s (and also the episode of Seinfeld that spoofed it) when I read things like this. A woman in B.C. has (unsuccessfully) sued a grocery store after one of her plastic shopping bags burst on her.

There’s a lesson here, kids. Plastic bags are flimsy, and they break. That’s just one more reason to bring reusable bags with you when you shop. (Like you needed another reason…!)

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!

On a slightly different note…

World News Australia today posted an article with Australia’s environmental stats as collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It claims that 99% of Australian households engage in some form of recycling, up 8% from March 1996. Approximately 90% of Australians have access to kerbside recycling. As well, nearly 9 out of 10 households reuse their plastic bags in some form.

These numbers look staggeringly good. But they got an ‘F’ anyway. Why? Transportation – not enough people are walking, biking, carpooling, or taking the bus.

Let’s take a moment and absorb this information. Alright, now compare that with some Canadian statistics. Every year, Statistics Canada issues a report entitled ‘Human Activity and the Environment: Annual Statistics.’ While the scope of the Canadian statistics does not exactly mirror those of Australia, we can still get a pretty good idea of what’s going on. (Yes, I’m aware that these numbers are from 2002, and that the tides have since shifted slightly. But from the looks of things, we’re going to have to wait until 2010 to get our 2006 numbers…!)

Now I’m no statistician (and most people stare in awe when I calculate restaurant tips on my fingers) but I have a funny feeling that the fact that only 22% of the total non-hazardous waste generated was diverted from disposal is, in layman’s terms, not good. And I understand – some things just can’t be recycled yet. Debris from construction sites, a lot of industrial waste, yada yada yada. But then you realize that residential sources accounted for 40% of waste disposal, and construction and demolition sources only accounted for 12%, and you realize that we’ve got a problem.

Construction and demolition sites (to a certain extent) can’t help what they throw out. But residential waste patterns can be affected greatly by everyone just doing their share. If people recycle or reuse their plastic bags or (preferably) take plastic bags out of the equation altogether (you knew that was coming!), maybe we’d be able to crawl out of the cave and perhaps, some day, set the curve.

 Just a thought…

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.