Couric & Co.
January 22, 2008 7:48 PM

Bagging Plastic Bags

By
Ben Tracy
Topics
Field Notes
(CBS)
Ben Tracy is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles.
Experts say a family of four uses nearly 1,500 plastic bags each year. Less than 1 percent of those are recycled.

So some communities and stores are taking action by simply not giving them out — or making it illegal to do so. While each store or city seems to have a slightly different policy, check out this list (courtesy of the environmental non-profit group Heal the Bay) of areas that either have or are considering a plastic bag ban.

IN THE UNITED STATES
Cities that have adopted a plastic bag ban:
  • Oakland
  • San Francisco

    Cities Considering action on plastic bags:

  • Annapolis, Md.
  • Austin, Texas
  • Baltimore
  • Berkeley, Calif.
  • Boston
  • Fairfax, Calif.
  • Maui, Hawaii
  • Malibu, Calif.
  • New Haven, Conn.
  • Portland, Ore.
  • Phoenix
  • San Jose, Calif.
  • Santa Cruz, Calif.
  • Santa Monica, Calif.
  • Seattle

    INTERNATIONALLY
    Countries that have adopted a plastic bag ban:
  • Bangladesh
  • China
  • Rwanda
  • Taiwan
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Zanzibar

    Cities or countries considering action on plastic ban:
  • Australia
  • Singapore
  • London

    • .

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