International Plastic Bag Free Day is celebrated on July 3 every year. Every day, we come to know about the hazardous effects of plastic pollution and increasing plastic pollution. The problem is increasing day by day and one needs to do their part to save our planet.
A plastic bag is one of the reasons due to which plastic pollution is increasing in the environment. Plastic bags are non-biodegradable and take more than 100-500 years to decay completely.
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Plastic bags are also harmful to marine life, they are often confused with jellyfish and some animals eat them that cause harm to them. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered by the researcher Charles Moore in the year 1997.
The International Plastic Bag Free Day was created by Bag Free World, it is a worldwide initiative for the sole purpose of getting rid of the single-use of plastic bags around the world.
By estimation, 500 billion plastic bags are used on a global scale and this huge number largely affects the environment, wildlife, and human life. International Plastic Bag Free Day a step towards saving the environment for our future generations.
Here is the list of countries that have banned plastic:
Bangladesh: Bangladesh was the first country that banned the use of single-use plastic in the country. The decision was taken in 2002 when during the floods the drainage system was clogged because of plastic.
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Africa: Following Bangladesh, Africa also eliminated the use of plastic bags in the year 2003. After that, more than 15 countries like Kenya, Mali, Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Morocco, South Africa, Rwanda and Botswana have also banned it and implemented taxes on the people using it.
Asia: In Asia, the countries like Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan have banned the usage of plastic (in any form).
Europe: In the European region, Denmark was the first that started taxing the use of plastic bags. After that, it was reported that the use of plastic bags was reduced from 800 million to 400 million. Following Denmark, England, Italy, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Germany also banned and taxed the use of plastic bags.
North America: Plastic bags are banned and taxed in Hawaii, Seattle, Maine, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.
Australia: So far, Australia has not taken any action against the use of plastic but some of its states like the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania have started to ban plastic use.
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Many nations in the world have not eliminated the use of plastic as a whole. But some countries have started many initiatives and laws to cut down the use of plastic. In 2014, California was the first USA state that ordered to switch plastic bags from paper bags.