"Ban the Bag" campaign taken up by cities to prevent oceans from becoming plastic soups
"Environmental activists are reducing plastic waste pollution by tackling disposable plastic bags, one city at a time. Abut 20 US cities and towns have passed disposable bag reduction laws, including San Francisco and Washington DC."
"The most recent city to join the effort to ban the bag is Portland, Ore., which has banned single-use plastic bags at the checkouts of large retailers. The change was met with overwhelming support from most Portlanders, says Stiv Wilson of 5 Gyres Institute, who helped give out free reusable bags at grocery stores to ease the transition for shoppers on October 15, when the ban took effect."
"Disposable shopping bags are a significant source of plastic pollution in the oceans, where scientists have identified five huge gyres of plastic soup."
Rebecca Leisher, "Cities Take Up "Ban the Bag" Fight," YES! Magazine, Winter 2012 http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-yes-breakthrough-15/cities-take-up...
[verified 4/17/14]