Legislation

The European Union is still debating the implementation of a plastic bag ban, but that hasn't stopped Finland from starting the process of changing attitudes single use bags, Finnish broadcasting company YLE reports. According to an article published on Monday, Finland has seen a 30% increase in the sales of reusable bags in the past year, alongside a growing general disapproval of single use bags. The article shares the opinions of a few Finnish shoppers, whose strong opinions regarding the use of disposable plastic bags support the spike in reusable bag sales:

The state of Massachusetts may be the first state in the United States of America to ban plastic bags if legislation currently being debated is passed, according to a report from NACS Online yesterday. The Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committee had a hearing on the House and Senate's proposed plastic bag bans during which no members of the plastics lobby came forward to speak out against the two versions of the legislation. According to the article:

Proposed legislation that would list bisphenol A as a hazardous chemical under California's Proposition 65 was stalled by a judge last Friday, who has granted a preliminary injunction to the American Chemistry Council's case against listing the chemical. This move effectively removes bisphenol A from the Proposition 65 list until a decision is reached.

An article from the Norwich Bulletin today has announced the existence of a new bill currently under review which would require that products containing bisphenol A be labeled before being sold to consumers in the state of Connecticut. A report from the Associated Press states that this new law would build upon pre-existing rules in Connecticut which prevent certain products containing the chemical from being manufactured or sold.

The California Grocers Association announced its support for a bill today which proposes banning plastic bags across the entire state -- a move which has given the bill a significant public boost. The bill, SB 405, was introduced by Senator Alex Padilla (D- Pacoima) and would prohibit single use plastic bags from being distributed in pharmacies and grocery stores beginning January 1st, 2015. According to a Los Angeles Times article written by Marc Lifsher, convenience and liquor stores would face the same requirements the following year.

California has become the latest state to acknowledge bisphenol A, or BPA, as a chemical with potentially carcinogenic properties according to a new decision which surfaced yesterday, reports the SF Gate News. Contributor Stephanie Lee writes that bisphenol A is being included in the list of chemicals designated under Proposition 65 as cancer causing. The bill exposes such chemicals and:

An article from the BBC yesterday marked the beginning of Northern Ireland's new tax on plastic carrier bags, which has now officially come into effect. The tax mandates that retailers must charge 5 pence for each new, single-use carrier bag that is handed out in shops, and these funds are sent directly to the Department of the Environment. The Department hopes that the fee will discourage the use of plastic bags by 80%, but they have also applied the fee to paper and starch-based bags in an effort to promote the usage of reusable bags across the board. According to the article:

Louisiana may be the next state to join the plastic bag ban battle as Democratic representative Regina Barrow of Baton Rouge has proposed an amendment to the state constitution requiring a 5 cent charge on all single-use, disposable plastic bags. If successful in the legislature, House Bill 529 would then proceed to voters for a decision during the 2014 general elections in November. 

In an article that appeared on the Sunday Times this week, a man was detained by the police in Rwanda after being caught smuggling a shipment of polythene bags into the country, which are considered an environmental hazard by the Rwandan government. According to correspondent Laurent Kamana, the man was found in possession of 200 packets of the plastic bags, amounting to approximately 40,000 pieces in total. The suspect, identified as Maurice Bizumuremyi, brought the bags in from Burundi, and was taking them to a client in Kimironko, Kigali City. Kamana reports:

Contributor Andy Metzger of the Lowell Sun, Massachusetts reports that in addition to being excluded from baby bottles by legislation already, bisphenol A is now being challenged with potential restriction from children's toys by a few of Boston's lawmakers. Senator Karen Spilka, a Democratic representative from Ashland, is one of the driving forces behind the push to eliminate bisphenol A from children's toys.