Europe considers plastic bag ban

BusinessGreen: European Commission launches consultation seeking to reduce plastic carrier bag waste
Businesses and individuals have been urged to give their views on whether the European Union should tax or altogether ban plastic carrier bags, as part of a new consultation designed to tackle rising levels of plastic waste.
The European Commission launched a public consultation this week, open until August, considering options to reduce plastic carrier bag waste and improve the way a bag is labelled to indicate how it will biodegrade.Some countries have already introduced taxes or reached voluntary agreements with the retail sector to phase out plastic bags, but no specific measures exist at EU level.Although most plastic carrier bags are theoretically recyclable, many are still sent to landfill. Moreover, because of their low weight and small size, they can easily escape the waste management process and end up in the sea or rivers where they pose a serious threat to wildlife and can contaminate waterways and soil.
It has been estimated that there are already around 250 billion floating plastic particles and 500 tonnes of plastic in the Mediterranean alone.