Update: Plastic bags may leave London, UK

CO: London may follow other cities in banning plastic bags, which could have a huge impact given London's identity as a shopping mecca.

• According to the Guardian Online (July 13, 2007) The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: "I am in favour of having a levy on plastic bags which could lead to a huge reduction in the use of plastic bags, cutting back on waste and helping our efforts to tackle climate change.
  
• British consumers use an estimated 10bn plastic bags - 167 per person - a year, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
• Ireland introduced a "plastax" of about 30 cents (20p) on each bag in 2002 and there has been a 90% reduction in use.

The Toronto Star has received both positive and negative consumer feedback on banning plastic bags:

• Ban plastic shopping bags and two things will happen: 1. Our city will instantly smell like a toilet due to the number of people not picking up after their dogs; 2. The Green bin program will falter. People will not be putting food directly in the bin because there is no way people will be keeping a bin around their properties that has leftover garbage fermenting in it because garbage collectors failed to completely empty the bins. I for one will not be washing out the bin.
  Dan Flanagan, Toronto
• We became the plastic bag nation. For groceries, forget about it and use the cloth one, roll it up and store in your personal (bag). It is indecent to see plastic bags everywhere: on lawns, attached to tree branches, in the street gutters, at the parks. Plastic bags which are not biodegradable should be banned.
  Rita Daddario, Toronto
  

The Toronto Star (May 9, 2007) discusses Ontario's plan to provide incentives rather than out right bans to reduce plastic bag usage.

See Corpobligation's earlier story on Plastic bags and PR

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