Busy Week of Bans

After San Francisco became the first US city to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags - as in the ones we use when we go grocery shopping- seems like other counties are waking up to understand their real environmental hazards. Now the county of Maui is apparently heading for the same type of legislation, hopefully doing away with non-biodegradable bags as well. Still, the ban is not total but rather only for businesses selling more than $250,000 in gross annual sales. Store owners would have to provide their customers with other alternatives, such as paper bags, re-usable bags, and biodegradable bags, or they could offer their customers recyclable bags. The apparent proposal to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags does not state anything about not allowing owners to charge their customers for plastic bag alternatives, as probably many retailers are bound to do.

Also, as of last Thursday (26th of October, 2007) the Zanzibar government is banning all non-biodegradable plastic bags in a national effort to protect the environment. Zanzibar's Chief Minister, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, said retailers will have to find alternatives to the now-banned plastic bags.... biodegradable plastic bags anyone?