Following up to "Alan Holmes" :


Following up to "'Mike'" :

As an afterthought, do you really believe that such a small item as a
paper
bag and use thereof will 'save the world'???????

Maybe not, but the paper bag will rot down if left outside, the plastic bag
will be there forever, unless you shop at the Co-Op!

Hence the horrendous fines for using plastic bags in some parts of India
now.


Battle of the bag
11 September 2004
From New Scientist Print Edition.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...f-the-bag.html

"In 2002, Bangladesh took a more drastic approach, bringing in a total ban
on the production and sale of polyethylene and introducing a £5 on-the-spot
fine for using a plastic bag. If a blanket ban seems a little extreme, it
was prompted by more than just green thinking. In a country with limited
waste disposal and virtually no bins, most of the 10 million or so plastics
bags used every day were dropped in the street, then washed into rivers and
sewers where they choked the country's drainage system. The Buriganga
river, which flows through the capital Dhaka, was left almost dammed by
plastic bags, and blocked drains are widely held responsible for the
devastating monsoon floods of 1988 and 1998. In the two years since the
ban, the once floundering jute-bag industry has been resurrected and street
children are reportedly doing a roaring trade in handmade paper bags made
from newspaper and torn-up exercise books. A resurgence of rebel
plastic-bag manufacturers this year has prompted a government crackdown,
with manufacturers facing up to 10 years in jail and a fine of £9000.

The government of the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is also taking
a hard line. There, being caught in possession of a polyethylene bag could
get you seven years behind bars and a £1000 fine."
--
Tim C.