Hawaii made history in May this year becoming the first US state to ban single-use plastic bags. Spearheaded by Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club Hawaii the move to get people using their own reusable bags, bottles and plates has spread throughout the islands. With previous legislation having already taken effect on Maui and Kauai islands significantly cleaner beaches and shallow waters are already evident. For some reason Oahu is lagging behind but will stop providing plastic bags in 2015. Also in May, Los Angeles joined the ranks of 47 other Californian cities in banning plastic bags. By the end of the year customers will need to take their own bags when they go shopping. As the largest city and consumer market in the state, as well as being a hub for international tourists, the new law is expected to remove 2.7 billion plastic bags from circulation. And there are already discussions about reducing the use and impact of plastic bottles in the city. What's behind all these new laws? Because plastic bags are made from petroleum they cannot be normally recycled, and they don't decay in landfills. Those that make it to the sea are eventually broken down through sunlight and wave action into fingernail-sized pieces or smaller. These bags and other forms of tiny plastic waste termed "microplastic" have been found all over the world. Greenpeace International estimates that plastic of various sizes is responsible for the deaths of over a million sea birds and a hundred thousand sea mammals and turtles annually. In a recent survey of the Pacific, Scripps Institution of Oceanography found a 100-fold increase in floating plastic waste. North of Hawaii, in an area known as the North Pacific Gyre, the alarming effects can be seen with the naked eye. Here the currents circle in a slow clockwise direction and have gathered our discarded waste to create a floating mass of plastic roughly the size of Texas, or twice the size of France. The same study found microplastic in 9% of fish sampled and estimates that fish in the intermediate depths of the Pacific could be ingesting 12 000 - 24 000 tons of plastic a year. Critics wonder, "So what will fewer plastic bags do?" Well, it's a start. It's a step asking us to weigh convenience against responsibility. It requires us to put a bit more thought into the act of purchasing items. The difference between what we need and what we use has never been greater. If we extend this planet-friendly thinking to packaging and product manufacturing the world really would see a difference, just like on Maui and Kauai. Nature doesn't waste anything. Neither should we. Sources: Plastic waste garbage floating in Pacific Ocean has increased 100-fold Hawaii Becomes the First State in the US to Ban Plastic Bags! Los Angeles Becomes the Largest US City to Ban Plastic Bags The Trash Vortex
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