China plastic bag ban

[dnoblett]

http://static.guim.co.uk/static/74438/zones/environment/images/logo.gif

China plastic bag ban 'has saved 1.6m tonnes of oil'

China Chain Store and Franchise Association say year-old ban has significantly reduced waste and helped change attitudes.

 

Jonathan Watts, Asia environment correspondent

 

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/02/26/0226_china_460x276.jpg

Chinese women buy vegetables with plastic bags at a food market in Beijing. Photograph: Feng Li/Getty

 

Banning flimsy plastic bags has been dismissed as a drop in the ocean when it comes to dealing with the world's environment problems, but multiplied on a China scale, it appears to have made a big difference.

 

A new report suggests restrictions on bag usage in the world's most populous nation have saved the equivalent of 1.6 million tonnes of oil, in the year since it was introduced.

 

Just ahead of the first anniversary of the ban, the China Chain Store and Franchise Association estimated it had saved the country 40 billion plastic bags.

 

According to their survey, plastic bag use has fallen by two thirds as consumers grow accustomed to bringing their own reusable bags.

 

The ban was introduced on 1 June 2008 to reduce "white pollution" ¨C the popular term for plastic bags and styrofoam packaging. Under the new rules, the state forbade production of ultra-thin bags under 0.025mm thick and ordered supermarkets to stop giving away free carriers.

 

That surprise move ¨C which went further than anything done by the US, the UK and many other developed nations ¨C was hailed by Greenpeace, Earthwatch and other green groups as a sign of growing environmental awareness in China. It also lead to the closure of the state's biggest plastic bag manufacturer.

 

Although the ban is often flouted, particularly at street stalls and small shops, it is widely praised for helping to change attitudes.

 

"It has made an impression," said recent graduate Xuyang Jingjing. "I see more people carrying 'green bags' to supermarkets these days. But I think if the government really wants people to stop using plastic bags, it should have the shops giving out green bags for free."

 

But there is a long way to go. China produces a million tonnes of rubbish a day with the volume looks set to rise.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009...ags-ban-success

[Zhou Zhou]

One of the smartest things the PRC has done to fight pollution/climate change was to go to cloth bags, imho. My lao po and I dropped into the Da Run Fa for a couple items...we forgot our bags. We laughed all the way home at our stuffed pockets and juggling bottles and boxes. It taught us a lesson. Now you can buy a nice home made cloth bag there for about 85¢. Also I found a new gift to take to my lao po and friends...cloth bags from the US with organization logos on them.

[Zhou Zhou]

NO PLASTIC BAGS???????? What ever would tai tai do without her stash of plastic bags? This doesn't sound good.

 

I also smuggle a bunch of plastic bags in country for lao tai tai...Do you?

[dnoblett]

How about this??

 

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2009/1/76%20Beer%20in%20a%20Bag.jpg

 

Beer in a Bag?

[Zhou Zhou]

How about this??

 

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2009/1/76%20Beer%20in%20a%20Bag.jpg

 

Beer in a Bag?

 

¹þ¹þ¹þ¹þ...that is funny!

 

My Lao po used to come in with bags that moved...she would have live fish or shrimp in them. The oysters were more docile, ¹þ¹þ¹þ.

 

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

How about this??

 

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2009/1/76%20Beer%20in%20a%20Bag.jpg

 

Beer in a Bag?

Gimme gimme gimme. B)

 

Now that's what I call making good use of plastic bags.

 

[GZBILL]

The ban on plastic bags doesn't apply to restaurants, wet markets, street vendors or practically any entity that isn't a licensed store. Still, it's a good start at eliminating an important source of pollution.

 

I don't carry a bag with me all day and sometimes decide to stop in at the store on the way home from work. Buying a plastic bag for 0.20 RMB isn't a big deal.

[michaln]

NO PLASTIC BAGS???????? What ever would tai tai do without her stash of plastic bags? This doesn't sound good.

 

we have quite the collection too

question is what does she do with them ?

 

why do we need to save 40-50 bags

I have to sneak them out to the recycle

apparently the paper bags have no value

[usagroom]

I found a new gift to take to my lao po and friends...cloth bags from the US with organization logos on them.

Good idea

[whome?]

How about this??

 

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2009/1/76%20Beer%20in%20a%20Bag.jpg

 

Beer in a Bag?

Gimme gimme gimme.

 

Now that's what I call making good use of plastic bags.

 

 

If you ever get to Qingdao you have to experience buying beer in a bag .. and drinking from it ....

 

Once it starts to get warm they sell fresh brewed Qingdao Beer from the keg in plastic bags ...

[whome?]

The ban on plastic bags doesn't apply to restaurants, wet markets, street vendors or practically any entity that isn't a licensed store. Still, it's a good start at eliminating an important source of pollution.

 

I don't carry a bag with me all day and sometimes decide to stop in at the store on the way home from work. Buying a plastic bag for 0.20 RMB isn't a big deal.

 

For you or me ... but remembering the chinese thinking, for many, it is a big deal and they refuse to pay for them...

[GZBILL]

The ban on plastic bags doesn't apply to restaurants, wet markets, street vendors or practically any entity that isn't a licensed store. Still, it's a good start at eliminating an important source of pollution.

 

I don't carry a bag with me all day and sometimes decide to stop in at the store on the way home from work. Buying a plastic bag for 0.20 RMB isn't a big deal.

 

For you or me ... but remembering the chinese thinking, for many, it is a big deal and they refuse to pay for them...

 

Exactly.

 

Most people here -- even those who are rich -- are not prone to throwing away $$.

[Zhou Zhou]

>>Once it starts to get warm they sell fresh brewed Qingdao Beer from the keg in plastic bags<<

 

Soft drinks and water with a piece of ice is sold in a small plastic bag in Latinamerica. It's poured from the bottle...down there they covet the bottles and don't allow anyone to walk off with them, ha, ha, ha.

[Sebastian]

drink in a bag... yum !!! I miss my morning yin yang peng !!! always served in a bag, straw out the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yin yang peng - black tea, black coffee, milk, sugar, served over ice.

[Kevin&Leilei]

I haven't seen many people using cloth bags. But people do reuse the plastic bags they already have. My lao po carries plastic bags with her almost all the time, just in case she needs to go to the store to pick something up.

 

Just a week or two ago I saw something that was brilliant... a person on the street handing out advertisements, printed on a plastic bag. Of course people will take a free bag!