Since January 2002, the Bangladesh government has banned the use of plastic bags in Dhaka, its third attempt to carry out such legislation.

In the year 2001, 9.3 million plastic bags were dumped in the city every day, with only 10-15% put in dustbins. The rest are left go into drainage and sewage lines, causing blockages. In the floods of 1989 and 1998 this prevented drainage, prolonging the flooding, Hossain Shahriar, a Bangladeshi ecologist and journalist from the Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) told edie. “It was discovered that due to the drainage congestion – by polythene shopping bags, water could not go down,” said Shahriar. “This was the cause of increasing water born diseases and air pollution-related environmental degradation.”

Info from www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=5029
Image taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43038000/jpg/_43038199_bangladesh_flood_ap.jpg

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Jasmin says,

The Beijing shops generally do not give out plastic bags, and they charge Renminbi 0.20 per plastic bag. I think that’s a good start. Mentioned it to someone and she said “I won’t ever be able to do that. I need those plastic bags to dump my rubbish in”. Sigh!

Anyways, we still get free plastic bags in Malaysia, and so far the legislation is unable to do anything about it because the plastic industry is lobbying not to ban plastic bags.  See my previous post on this “No Rush To Ban Plastic Bags From MPs”

More info on banning plastic bags

• It’s a dog’s day at the neighborhood market
• No rush to ban plastic bags from MPs
• Plastic bottles vs paper cups at “More raw food at the night markets”

Tagged with: Bangladesh • Beijing • Dhaka • Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) • Hossain Shahriar • plastic bags • polythene • Renminbi

Filed under: Environmental Issues • General • Green • Health • Responsibility

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