The country of Wales considered a mandatory nationwide 15p per bag charge for all plastic bags used in the country.  The government officials noted that plastic bags use was extremely high in Wales, 480 million bags a year, and that the only way to stop consumers from using the bags, would be to charge a high fee for them.  

Much of the talk lately about banning plastic bags has been about big cities around the world.  Small cities and towns are equally as interested in the issue, and are finding clever ways to appraoch the problem of plastic bag waste (though on a much smaller budget).  A small town in Exmouth, United Kingdom has launched a two week campaign that appears to be having great success.

Turns out that plastic bag waste is not the most harmful by-product of plastic bags - toxic gases just might be.  A new study reported on in The Independent states that as plastic bags break down they are releasing gases that are incredibly harmful to both humans as well as marine life. 

From The Independent:

The Daily Mail in the United Kingdom is reporting that "Tesco misleadingly claimed to have more than halved the number of plastic bags it hands out to shoppers.  The supermarket said last month that its customers were 'using more than 50 per cent fewer carrier bags than they did before'.  Its statement came on the same day that supermarkets collectively announced they had managed

"Businesses across Kingston have been urged to do their bit on the world's first plastic bag-free day.  Environmental campaigners have called on traders to advertise the event, on September 12, in their shop windows and only hand out long-life bags on the day.  Shoppers will be able to pick up a free cloth bag from a stall outside All Saints Church, in Kingston's Market Plac

"Britain’s biggest supermarket chain has published misleading figures giving the impression that it had met an industry target to halve the use of plastic bags.  The Times has learnt that Tesco, which claims to be one of the greenest retailers, missed the target and tried to conceal its actual performance."  The Times has learned that Tesco has cal