U.N. Calls for Global Ban on Plastic Bags

U.N. Calls for Global Ban on Plastic Bags

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the U.N. Environment Program is advocating a global ban on plastic bags because there is “zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere,” he says.

His comment came from a U.N. Environment Program report that identifies plastic as the most common form of ocean litter, along with cigarette butts, according to the results of the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup Day. “Plastic, the most prevalent component of marine debris, poses hazards because it persists so long in the ocean, degrading into tinier and tinier bits that can be consumed by the smallest marine life at the base of the food web,” the report says.

Currently, San Francisco is the only U.S. city that has completely banned plastic bags. China is also testing the same ban in which retailers distributing plastic bags can be fined up to $1,464.

For more information head to:

http://earth911.com/blog/2009/06/10/un-calls-for-global-ban-on-plastic-bags/