Taxing plastic bags is effective

Ireland was the first country to tax plastic bags. A 12 cent tax reduced usage 90% in just one year.

Many countries around the world have followed suit, leading to similar results everywhere. Malta, South Africa, Taiwan, Kenya, the list grows every day as the scale of the problem they cause registers.

The Wall Street Journal says the United States consumes 100 billion plastic bags annually, requiring about 12 million barrels of oil to produce. And plastic bags, which look like food to marine animals, cause more than 100,000 marine animal deaths per year.

Plastic bags are not biodegradable, but rather, photodegradable. They break down in sunlight into smaller toxic bits, contaminating soil and waterways. This affects us very directly. A shocking statistic says all adult Americans now urinate plastics.

A proposal to tax them at the rate of 17 cents a bag in California has led to a heated debate.

Most observers feel that while it will lead to some discontent in the beginning, Californians will embrace the cause with enthusiasm in a while.

And why not? The have led the country in many moves that sounded radical in the beginning.

Reusable cotton bags will probably become a fashion and lifestyle statement as soon as people begin to see how attractive and affordable they can be. An increasing number of visitors are dropping by at http://www.badlani.com to check out the huge variety of reusable bags offered there.

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Norquest Brands is a small organisation based in Ahmedabad, India, that seeks to offer viable and attractive alternatives to plastic bags, which they consider a serious threat to our planet’s continued good health.