January 22nd, 2008
Plastic bags: going, going, go...
Another small sign that the plastic bag is losing it. It being prominence, or even legal circulation. Plastic bags: how did we live before?
Now that upscale, more-organic-than-thou chain of provender providers, Whole Foods, is going to stop using plastic bags at the checkout. Whole Foods hopes to have all plastic bags out of their stores by Earth Day, April 22. The bag industry is pretending not to care because Whole Foods is not Walmart. But we know they’re whistling in the dark. In the town where I live people already carry canvas shopping bags. Put a couple plastic bags in your attic to show the grandkids.
As in many things enviornmental these days, the U.S. lags. China has plans to do away with plastic bags NATIONALLY. The ban starts in June. Not in 2020 like some of the more popular save-the-planet mouthwash coming out of Washington D.C. Of course, China wants to clean up its anti-environmental image before the summer Olympics shows the world how intensely polluted the air is over China’s cities. At least China can try to get those white bags from floating through the streets in huge numbers.
The first countryto ban plastic bags was…Bengladesh. That was back in 2002. Several European countries have taxed the bags for some time. Many African nations ban or tax them as well. Several states in India are working on bag bans. In the U.S. only San Francisco and nearby Oakland have banned plastic bags through government action. For at least the next yesar it is likely anti antui-bag moves will be by cities or businesses. Trader Joe’s has also stopped using plastic bags in most of its stores.
I want to see retailers move on to packaging. How much damned plastic and foam do you bring home from a shopping trip? And I recently got both a new computer (the old died) and a printer (the old one was crap). Packaging? I have enough foam and plastic from those two buys to build a small non-biodegrading sculpture to tech packaging. Come on guys, plastic was hot when “The Graduate” was a new film. Get over it.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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