In the 80s when our local grocery store began asking “paper or plastic”, the answer became “plastic”. The bags never broke, they were easily storable (compactable), and they were reusable as trash bags.. they were perfect. That is if you don’t mind the fact that the production of these bags is highly polluting and unlike their paper cousins, take a very very very long time to degrade. Well, with good reason, it appears that June 1 will be the D day for the plastic bag in China as reported by the Guardian in their article China clamps down on plastic bag use

The country’s cabinet, the state council, today announced it would restrict the production, sale and use of all plastic carrier bags as part of the country’s war on waste. As many as 3bn plastic bags are used in China each day, putting intolerable pressure on the country’s valuable resources and helping to ruin the environment, the council said.

Pan Yue, head of the State EPA is quoted as saying:

public participation is the most important element in the country’s green drive, but acknowledged that public awareness of the problem remains poor.

Something I totally agree with, and fortunately (as we have been highlighting), I believe the tide is turning on public awareness and participation. As with everything in China, it all comes down to local enforcement. While I have not seen any directive myself, I would be more encouraged if any measures looked at the entire chain… not just the retail side. If they are really serious, then they will prohibit the manufacture of these bags, prohibit the use of certain chemicals, etc. Maybe that it is a bit much to ask for now, but were I at the WWF, NRDC, or Roots and Shoots, I would jump all over this and start designing campaigns with the government to coincide with D day. June 1 Here is a full report on Al Jazera