Industry offers bags of trouble

I'm plastic bag-averse, so when I got to the supermarket I take my own shopping bags. But after going through the fruit and vegetable department I usually still finish up with several plastic bags. Does that sound familiar? Yes, plastic bags are really handy.

Unfortunately, they're also terrible for the environment and for wildlife. They jam landfills, where they won't decompose for centuries. They float across wide swaths of the seas - it's been estimated that more than 45,000 pieces of plastic debris float on every square mile of ocean. More than 90 per cent of all birds recently examined in the North Sea had plastic in their stomachs, according to the European Commission.

For years environmentalists tried with little success to get municipalities or retailers to ban the bags, or at least charge consumers for each bag handed out. But the tide seems to be turning. Here are a few places banning plastic bags or placing a tax on their use.

In California the ban started in San Francisco in select stores and could soon expand to all stores not only in the city, but the entire state. A similar ban exists in coastal North Carolina and was recently passed in Portland.

In 2007, Modbury became the first town to ban plastic bags in Britain. Other cities have followed suit.

Mexico City has adopted a ban, the second major city in the western hemisphere to do so.

India seems to be taking the lead in bans on plastic bags, although enforcement is sometimes questionable. Cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Karwar, Tirumala, Vasco and Rajasthan have all banned the bag.

A ban went into effect with little notice in Rangoon, Burma.

Plastic bags have been banned since 2002 in Bangladesh after being found responsible for the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged most the country.

Rwanda: This country, which had banned bags for years, has a reputation for being one of the cleanest nations not only in Africa but also the world.

Sydney's Oyster Bay was the first Australian suburb to ban plastic bags.

Twelve towns in Australia are now said to be plastic bag-free.

Plenty of other places have chosen not to ban plastic bags but to discourage them through financial means. There have been taxes on plastic bags since before 2008 in Italy, Belgium and notably Ireland, where plastic bag use dropped by 95 per cent within weeks of the 2002 ban.

In Switzerland, Germany and Holland bags come with a fee.

The progress is being welcomed by countries such as Denmark and Ireland, which have led the movement. Members of the European Union have agreed to reduce plastic bag use by 80 per cent by 2019.

However, restrictions in other parts of the world have been less successful. Taiwan banned plastic bags for three years before it was lifted in 2006. Several large cities in South America have proposed bans that were defeated by industry or passed laws that were later overturned by courts.

The Earth Policy Institute points out that recycling of plastic bags often doesn't work.

The vast majority of bags still end up in the rubbish, the institute says.

The other solution - biodegradable plastic bags - have had mixed success. The bags typically cost more, so consumers don't buy them and some don't break down completely. An estimated 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. What are you doing about this?

David Scoullar is a keen tramper and conservationist.