plastic bags

German Environment Minister Calls for Plastic Bag Ban

German Environment Minister Calls for Plastic Bag Ban

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has said she plans to introduce a law to ban the use of plastic bags. “My ministry will get a plastic bag ban on its way,” the Social Democrat said in Berlin on Sunday, without providing a timeline. She said the goal was to “get out of the throwaway society […]

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    Plastics Industry Loses Legal Bid Against Chile’s Landmark Bag Ban

    Plastics Industry Loses Legal Bid Against Chile’s Landmark Bag Ban

    Chile’s Constitutional Court ratified a bill that bans plastic bags across the country after rejecting an appeal from the plastics industry. Last month, Chile’s Congress unanimously approved the ban in order to protect the environment and especially the ocean. Shortly after, the Santiago-based Association of Industrial Plastics (Asipla) launched a legal challenge to overturn the […]

    Aussie Retailers Brave Customer ‘Bag Rage’ to Save the Planet

    Aussie Retailers Brave Customer ‘Bag Rage’ to Save the Planet

    The Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia, as well as the supermarket chains Coles, Big W and Woolworths joined the war on plastic pollution July 1 with new restrictions on single-use plastic bags, National Public Radio (NPR) reported. But some angry customers have been fighting back in a phenomenon the press is dubbing “bag […]

    Texas Supreme Court Rules Cities Cannot Ban Plastic Bags

    Texas Supreme Court Rules Cities Cannot Ban Plastic Bags

    The Texas Supreme Court struck down the city of Laredo’s plastic bag ban—a decision that will likely overturn similar bans in about a dozen other cities, including Austin, Fort Stockton and Port Aransas. The court ruled Friday that only the state has the authority to regulate solid waste disposal in Texas. In the 19-page opinion, […]

    SeaWorld, American Express, Fast Food Chains to Curb Single-Use Plastics

    SeaWorld, American Express, Fast Food Chains to Curb Single-Use Plastics

    Momentum is building in the war against single-use plastics. In the past week, a slew of major companies—including SeaWorld parks, American Express, cruise company Royal Caribbean, IKEA, A&W Canada and Burger King UK—have pledged to eliminate items such as plastic drinking straws, stirrers, lids and bags in efforts to protect our oceans and their inhabitants. […]

    UN Launches First-Ever Global Plastics Report on World Environment Day

    UN Launches First-Ever Global Plastics Report on World Environment Day

    The theme for this year’s World Environment Day, the world’s largest environmental celebration which takes place June 5, is “Beat Plastic Pollution.” In honor of the occasion, UN Environment released the first ever “state of plastics” report, tracking government action against plastic waste, a UN Environment press release reported. The report, titled “Single-Use Plastics: A […]

    Whale’s Tragic Death by Plastic Bags a Reminder of a Global Crisis

    Whale’s Tragic Death by Plastic Bags a Reminder of a Global Crisis

    A pilot whale died in southern Thailand last week after swallowing 17 pounds of plastic waste, despite a five-day effort to save the animal’s life. A necropsy revealed that the plastic debris, which included 80 plastic bags, clogged the whale’s stomach, Reuters reported. The whale was found in critical condition in a canal near Thailand’s […]

    Chile to Become First Country in the Americas to Ban Plastic Bags

    Chile to Become First Country in the Americas to Ban Plastic Bags

    Chile is set to become the first country in the Americas to ban plastic bags to help protect the environment and especially the ocean. Congress unanimously approved the measure on Wednesday. The bill was initially designed to outlaw plastic bags in Patagonia, but was later extended nationwide. President Sebastian Piñera celebrated the news. “We have […]