single use

A study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board of Ahmadabad, India during the year 2010-11 has given the Minister of State for Environment and Forests disturbing data upon which to base further political action. The study, which took survey of plastic trash data across 60 cities, concluded that the total figure representing India's plastic waste in just one day amounts to 15,342. 46 tons. Out of this overwhelming sum, 9,205 tons are gathered and recycled, and 6,137 tons remain uncollected.

Students of the Glen Rock High and Middle Schools of New Jersey are practicing sustainability in a very real way, as a new device recently installed on campus encourages students to make use of a resource that they have readily available to them -- clean tap water. According to a report on North Jersey, new water fountain units that include a station for carbon-filtered, clean water to refill reusable bottles have been installed, giving students the ability to bring their own bottles to school.

The California Grocers Association announced its support for a bill today which proposes banning plastic bags across the entire state -- a move which has given the bill a significant public boost. The bill, SB 405, was introduced by Senator Alex Padilla (D- Pacoima) and would prohibit single use plastic bags from being distributed in pharmacies and grocery stores beginning January 1st, 2015. According to a Los Angeles Times article written by Marc Lifsher, convenience and liquor stores would face the same requirements the following year.

An article from the BBC yesterday marked the beginning of Northern Ireland's new tax on plastic carrier bags, which has now officially come into effect. The tax mandates that retailers must charge 5 pence for each new, single-use carrier bag that is handed out in shops, and these funds are sent directly to the Department of the Environment. The Department hopes that the fee will discourage the use of plastic bags by 80%, but they have also applied the fee to paper and starch-based bags in an effort to promote the usage of reusable bags across the board. According to the article:

In a new success story from the struggle against plastic bags, Whole Foods and IKEA have now announced that they are disowning the single-use bags alongside a number of other companies which have introduced schemes to eliminate waste from their stores. An article from GreenBiz authored by Alison Moodie comments on the move made by these two organizations, stating that:

A fast food restaurant in Brazil has introduced a new, edible packaging for their food according to a new article from Fox News. The chain, called Bob's, has introduced the wrapping as part of an advertising campaign which aims to play up consumers' enthusiasm for the burgers, suggesting that they cannot wait to unwrap the burger to enjoy it. According to the article:

The United Arab Emirates Government has created legislation in an attempt to rid Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other emirates of plastic bags by creating a law that only biodegradable bags may be used in all businesses beginning January 2013. The Green Prophet's Tafline Laylin reports that while this is a well meaning attempt to eliminate the plastic problem, many fear that the legislation will not be sufficient to curb plastic pollution. According to Laylin:

The UK remains undecided with regards to its policy on a plastic bag ban as of last week, when the minister of state David Heath responded to inquiries about the potential ban by suggesting that a decision would emerge "sooner rather than later." According to Hamish Champ of Plastics and Rubber Weekly, 

Replying to a question from Green MP Caroline Lucas, Heath said he could not necessarily commit to making a decision early next year “because we want to look at the data [from the Welsh experience]”.

In a statement issued through Resource Recycling's recent newsletter, it was announced that Coca-Cola has drawn a close to its refillable glass bottle scheme, which has been in operation for 80 years. The last company to use the refillable glass bottles ceased manufacture on October 10th, with the final batch set to be sold to help promote bicycle and pedestrian paths in Winona, Minnesota. The final bottle will be sent to a museum for display. This is a symbolic reminder of the changes that are a result of an increasingly disposable world.

The Wall Street journal ran an article today that took a binary perspective on the issue of plastic bag bans by gathering both sides of the argument and presenting them side by side. The story gathered the opinions of pro-bag ban Daniella Dimitrova Russo, executive director and co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, and Todd Myers, environmental director at the Washington Policy Center. Both co-authors provide arguments in support of their stance on plastic bag bans, and set up clear arguments opposing one another. Daniella Dimitrova Russo writes: