Dublin -- there is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape. There are taxis and buses. Every other person is talking into a cellphone. But there are no plastic shopping bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life. In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts. Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. [ more ]
Click on the link above for more details, such as the fact that in January of 2008, more than 42 million plastic bags were used worldwide, and the figure increases by more than half a million every minute.
I'm in awe of Ireland (the bag-tax edict is enforced throughout the entire country) and hope they get more press and kudos for their change.
Now, I believe, like Thoreau, that the government that governs the least governs the best. But this is one example of an intervening government that actually did some good! I'm having a hard time reconciling those facts; it's uncommon.
On a personal note-we reuse a number of our bags for doggie and kittie cleanup. But we still have many more bags than even that requires.
Can this be done here?
1 comment:
You may have more bags than animals to clean up after. This is not true for other homes.
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