plastic bags

Boston City Council Approves Plastic Bag Ban

Boston City Council Approves Plastic Bag Ban

You might want to bring a tote if you plan on shopping in Beantown next year. Boston City Council voted 12-0 on Wednesday to ban single-use plastic bags across the Massachusetts capital. The measure now heads to Mayor Marty Walsh, who is said to be reviewing the proposal, which requires businesses to charge no less […]

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    Kenya Joins Growing Fight Against Plastic Pollution

    Kenya Joins Growing Fight Against Plastic Pollution

    Kenya just became the latest country to ban plastic bags. According to Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu, “The ministry has banned the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging.” Kenya’s ban follows the United Nations‘ new Clean Seas initiative, which has already inspired 10 governments to address plastic […]

    Microplastics in Oceans Outnumber Stars in Our Galaxy by 500 Times

    Microplastics in Oceans Outnumber Stars in Our Galaxy by 500 Times

    The United Nations is “declaring war” on the biggest sources of planetary pollution—ocean plastic. On Thursday, the intergovernmental organization’s environment program (UNEP) launched its #CleanSeas campaign at the World Ocean Summit hosted by The Economist in Bali, Indonesia. The unprecedented global initiative urges governments and businesses to take measures to eliminate microplastics from cosmetics and […]

    Whale Found With 30+ Plastic Bags in Its Stomach

    Whale Found With 30+ Plastic Bags in Its Stomach

    Norwegian zoologists have discovered some 30 plastic bags and other marine debris inside the stomach of a malnourished 20-foot Cuvier’s beaked whale. The whale was an adult male that weighed about 2 tons. Local authorities were forced to euthanize the distressed animal on Jan. 28 after repeatedly stranding itself off the shallow waters of Sotra, […]

    How California Became America’s First State to Ban Plastic Bags

    How California Became America’s First State to Ban Plastic Bags

    By Matt Davis California’s environmental protections are not for sale. That’s the message California voters sent to out-of-state plastic bag manufacturers when they upheld Proposition 67 by 53 to 47 percent in November. But how did the Golden State manage to win a state-wide bag ban against a national political backdrop that went the other […]

    San Diego Bans Plastic Bags

    San Diego Bans Plastic Bags

    The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to ban single-use plastic bags at grocery stores, pharmacies and corner markets. The goal of the new ordinance is to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags, decreasing the number of plastic checkout bags used every year. San Diego goest through roughly 700 million plastic bags a year, with […]