Plastic grocery bags

New Zealand's produce bag ban will also include recyclable, biodegradable or plant-based plastic.

New Zealand becomes first country to ban single-use produce bags at grocery stores

12:36pm July 03, 2023

by Juliana Kim

The nation has banned the bags that typically hold vegetables and fruit. Recyclable, biodegradable or plant-based plastic bag are also included in the ban.

Kevin Carducci is part owner and plant manager of Omni Recycling. He says it costs the business $1 million a year to get rid of the plastics that can't be recycled.

More U.S. Towns Are Feeling The Pinch As Recycling Becomes Costlier

5:06pm August 21, 2019

by Rebecca Davis

The U.S. recycling industry is facing a quandary: Too much of the plastic we use can't be recycled, and taxpayers increasingly are on the hook for paying for all that trash to hit the landfills.

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Trash sent for recycling moves along a conveyor belt to be sorted at Waste Management's material recovery facility in Elkridge, Md. In 2018, China announced it would no longer buy most plastic waste from places like the United States.

U.S. Recycling Industry Is Struggling To Figure Out A Future Without China

8:10pm August 20, 2019

by Christopher Joyce

China is no longer taking the world's waste. The U.S. recycling industry is overwhelmed — it can't keep up with the plastic being churned out. This doesn't bode well for our plastic waste problem.

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Are Plastic Bag Bans Garbage?

2:29pm April 09, 2019

by Greg Rosalsky

A national movement to ban plastic bags is gaining steam, but these restrictions may actually hurt the environment more than help it. Human nature, hard truths, and what kind of bag to use anyway?

In Kibera, Kenya's biggest slum, plastic bags are found everywhere — on roofs, on walls and clogging drainage. The Kenyan government says an almost total ban on plastic bags will benefit the environment.

Using Plastic Bags Is Now Illegal — And Punishable By Jail Time — In Kenya

12:12pm August 28, 2017

by Eyder Peralta

The East African economic powerhouse is following in the footsteps of its much smaller neighbor Rwanda. Kenya's government says it's good for the environment, but critics say it will hurt the poor.