World Moves to Ban Plastic Bags

Beijing, January 2008. AP PHOTO/Andy Wong

Outlawed in South Africa; in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Mumbai, India; and now in China. Taxed and non-grata in Italy, Belgium, South Australia. In Ireland, where the "PlasTax" costs a shopper 22 euro cents a bag, usage is reported to have dropped 95%.

"Plastic bags aren't inherently bad," says Vincent Cobb of reusablebags.com. "It's the mindlessness and volume of consumption of plastic bags that occurs."

From National Geographic News.