The Maui County Board of Supervisors will vote this Friday on whether to ban plastic bags. Maui, the second most populous county of Hawaii, would become the first non-Californian municipality in the country to ban plastic bags if they succeed. Hawaii is particularly affected by plastic marine debris pollution as it lies in the North Pacific garbage patch. Beaches there are routinely affected by huge deposits of "drift plastic".

CAW and Plastic Bags:

• AB 2058 would reduce plastic bag usage and encourage the use of reusable bags by putting a fee on single-use carryout bags.

Jun 27 - Britain Struggles with Low Recycling Rates (NY Times)

Jun 9 - Britain To Burn Trash for Energy (TIME)

Plastic bags are banned in China, starting this weekend.  Henry Sanderson from the Associated Press writes that the law, anounced at the beginning of the year, is designed to conserve China's resources:

The China Plastics Processing Industry Association estimates the measure will reduce the amount of plastic bags used by a third from 1.6 million tons a year. The Chinese now use 3 billion bags every day, according to the group, and they are virtually indestructible, taking years to break down and commonly ending up in China's clogged landfills.

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CAW and Plastic Bags:

• Learn about AB 2058, which is designed to significantly reduce disposable bag use.  AB 2058 recently passed a crucial Assembly vote.