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Say no to plastic bags

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-05 09:35

Each of us has a duty to drop the old habit of using plastic bags to protect our environment, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Starting from June 1, supermarkets, department stores and groceries stopped giving free plastic shopping bags to their customers. UN environment chief Achim Steiner has praised the decision by the Chinese government to impose limits on the use of plastic bags.

In the run-up to the starting date of the ban, many organizations went out to streets, handing out "environmental protection bags" for free to passers-by and encouraging them to use them, and also educating them about the risks of using plastic bags. To show their support to the ban, some supermarkets also gave their customers free environment-friendly bags in May.

Plastic bags have become quite popular among customers in recent years for they are convenient and usually free. But nowadays, with the popularity of the concept of environmental protection, people have begun to recheck the environmental problems these plastic bags have brought, and they have started to lose their dominance in many countries and regions across the world. Whether they are in America, Europe or in Africa, many countries are laying down laws and regulations to limit the use of plastic bags. Among these measures, the following are widely adopted: to replace them with degradable bags, charge the use of plastic bags, the set-up of reclaim boxes, and the fine on violators.

Plastic bags were invented in 1902 in Europe. But now in many European countries, the use of plastic bags is charged. Several years ago, some large-scale department stores in Europe started introducing environment-friendly bags. Moreover, these stores also put up posters to educate the customers and cultivate their sense of environmental protection. It is the common goal of human beings to check the white pollution and boost environmental protection.