China Bag Ban

[lame54]

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10716
BEIJING - Declaring war on the "white pollution" choking its cities, farms and waterways, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old — steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers on Wednesday.

The measure eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources.

Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness and concern over skyrocketing oil prices.

"If we can reduce waste and save resources, then it's good both for us and the whole world," said college student Xu Lixian, who was buying tangerines out of cardboard boxes at a sidewalk stall.

The ban takes effect June 1, barely two months before Beijing hosts the Summer Olympic Games, ahead of which it has been demolishing run-down neighborhoods and working to clear smog. The games have added impetus to a number of policies and projects, likely boosting odds for the bag ban's implementation.

[fenriswolf]

1. awsome

every piece of positive news in todays age is awsome.

[jmowreader]

2. This is a good step...

but when are we going to see an article claiming that China has banned lead paint?

I know some of y'all bought Christmas decorations at Home Depot. If you did, please go to a Home Depot and look at the recall board. Right now, I've got at least five recall notices for the Chinese-made Christmas decorations we sold because of lead paint, and I don't think they'll be the last. If the thing you bought is on there, Home Depot will give you a full refund.

During the season, we got the weirdest thing a few times: recall notices that arrived at the store BEFORE the recalled items did. We got one notice from corporate that came with an addendum: we believe you will be able to safely disregard this notice because the product covered by this recall has not yet arrived at the port of entry. You know you're screwn when the shit you make is recalled while it's still in the middle of the ocean.

[tekisui]

3. I can't knock a ban on plastic bags, but China, you gotta long way to go.

They are big time polluters. They ignore human rights and environmental protections. This seems to be more about Olympic image than the environment.