[ad_1]
- Lawmakers in the state of New York have approved a state-wide plastic bag ban, which will come into effect in March 2020.
- Similar bans are already in effect in California, Hawaii and more than 32 countries. Some places tax plastic bags instead of a ban.
- Buyers use 500 billion single-use plastic bags worldwide every year.
- These bags usually end up in landfills or in the ocean. More than 100,000 marine mammals get caught in plastic bags and die every year.
- Other cities and companies have also banned plastic straws for single use.
The New York government, Andrew Cuomo, and the New York legislature have approved a new budget including a ban on single-use plastic bags.
On the effective date of the ban, on March 1, 2020, New York will become one of three US states to not allow these bags. (The others are California and Hawaii.)
"The convenience of plastic bags is simply not worth the environmental impact," said New York State Assembly President Carl Heastie at the Associated Agency. Press. "By reducing the use of our state, we will see less waste in our communities and less plastic pollution in our waterways."
Buyers around the world use about 500 billion (yes, billions) of single-use plastic bags each year. That's about 150 bags a year for every person on Earth, according to the nonprofit group Ocean Crusaders. Sewn together, it's enough plastic to go around the world 4,200 times.
On average, a plastic bag lasts only 12 minutes, according to Reusethisbag, an organization that sells durable grocery bags.
Most bags end up rotting in landfills where they can stay up to 1000 years. Some are making their way in the ocean.
Another type of disposable plastic – straw – is also eliminated in some areas. In the United States, 500 million straws are used daily. But California has banned restaurants from serving plastic straws to their customers unless they request it, and Seattle has also eliminated them.
About 8 million tonnes of plastic penetrate the ocean each year on average, but the maximum amount could be closer to 14 million tonnes.
Read more:Sober photos show what a plastic week looks like for typical families around the world
Plastic bags that end up in the ocean entwine and kill about 100,000 marine mammals each year. Recently, a sperm whale has been stranded on the shores of Sardinia with nearly 50 pounds of plastic in its stomach. Less than a month earlier, it was discovered that another dead whale had ingested 88 pounds of plastic.
But while only three US states have taken action to ban plastic bags, they are already banned in 32 countries. Here are the cities and countries around the world that are tackling the growing threat of disposable plastics.
Source link
