Plastic bag bans around the world (BBC)

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As the campaign to ban plastic bags gathers momentum, here is a snapshot of how countries around the world are tackling the issue.

AFRICA

In May 2003, South Africa set the pace by banning thinner plastic bags as well as imposing levies on thicker ones. Eritrea, Rwanda and Somalia banned plastic bags in 2005. Tanzania (including Zanzibar) introduced a total ban on the carriers in 2006. Kenya and Uganda in mid-2007 banned thinner plastic bags and imposed levies on thicker ones.

AMERICAS

In the US, San Francisco became the first city to ban plastic bags from large supermarkets and pharmacies in March 2007. Several months later the rest of California passed laws requiring large supermarkets to take back and recycle plastic bags.

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SOUTH ASIA

In 2002, Bangladesh imposed an outright ban on all thinner plastic bags in the capital, Dhaka, after they were found to have choked the drainage system during devastating floods. The measure triggered a revival of the local jute bag industry. In India Mumbai banned plastic bags in 2000 and the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh made thinner bags illegal in 2003.

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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7268960.stm

Plastic bags are especially hazardous to sea turtles, who mistake them for jellyfish and swallow them, resulting in intestinal blockages and slow death.