Environmental News Network reports that China's almost complete ban on plastic bags - consumers can still purchase thicker plastic bags - is a success.Consumers have easily adapted by bringing their own bags and some have even gone back to using traditional baskets.
The ban makes it illegal for shops to hand out free plastic bags to shoppers.
"China's central government dealt this heavy blow to plastic bags out of concern for the environment and a desire for greater energy savings. People in China use up to 3 billion plastic bags daily and dispose of more than 3 million tons of them annually. Most of the carriers end up in unofficial dumping sites, landfills, or the environment. Urban dumping centers and open fields alongside railways and expressways are littered with the discarded bags, mostly whitish ultra-thin varieties. Such scenes have generated a special term in China: "the white pollution."Read the full story: China watch: plastic bag ban trumps market and consumer efforts
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