China is one of the latest places to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags from supermarkets, grocery stores and markets. The State Council of the People's Republic of China, namely the Central People's Government, has issued a notice requiring all supermarkets, grocery stores and free markets to stop providing free plastic bags from June 1, 2008. Instead it calls for people to return to using shopping baskets or cloth bags for shopping.

The notice includes a ban on the production of ultra-thin plastic bags (thinner than 0.025 mm) that are not biodegradable. New criteria will be made on the production of plastic bags while more durable plastic bags still will be permitted for sale by markets and shops.In order for people to comply with the ban the notice says that government at various levels must be responsible and those who fail to observe the ban will face disciplinary penalties.

It is estimated that millions of plastic bags are used every day in China which, as well as high production costs, incur high recycling costs. The ban takes effect shortly before the Beijing Summer Olympic Games which has already speeded up other measures to try and reduce pollution and smog in the capital.

Elsewhere in the world, such as in South Africa, Ireland, Taiwan and Bangladesh,  legislation has already been introduced to cut the use of plastic bags. Last year, San Francisco became the first US city to ban petroleum-based plastic bags in large grocery stores while in Germany retailers must pay a recycling fee if they wish to offer bags. Other supermarket chains, such as Delhaize of Belgium, and a number of competitive retailers in New Zealand have taken it upon themselves to stop distributing plastic bags at the check-out.

Meanwhile in Australia, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has branded the Federal Government’s push to ban plastic bags by the end of this year as populist politics. Environment minister Peter Garrett is considering having plastic bags phased out either by imposing a levy on each bag or banning them outright.

“This initiative will cause confusion, increase costs and add a further compliance burden to retailers,” says ARA’s  executive director Richard Evans. “The ARA supports a system of voluntary compliance. The use of plastic bags in supermarkets has reduced by 45% between 2002 and 2005. The issue here is not about the availability of plastic bags, it is about litter management. Consumers need to take greater responsibility of how they reuse and dispose of plastic bags… it’s a litter issue,” he said.

“Legislation won’t fix the problem. Where do you draw the line on plastic bags … which plastic bags; what exemptions will apply; what are the alternatives? Is the minister suggesting we should go back to paper? Surely this will add greater problems to global warming? What the ARA wants is leadership and further dialogue on this very important issue, not populist rhetoric and the heavy hand of legislation about plastic carry bags,” said Evans.

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