Ahead of the planet: which countries have banned the use of plastic bags

Our world is flooded with plastic waste. What initially seemed practical, hygienic and cheap turned into a grandiose problem, the solution of which, it seems, does not exist. But some countries show us by example that getting rid of plastic hell is possible, at least from plastic bags. The most striking thing is that these are not at all economically developed countries of Europe and not even Japan, the level of concern for the environment in which is incredibly high.

Rwanda

A small African country located in the center of the continent surprised the world community back in 2008 when it introduced a ban on the use of plastic bags. It was decided to replace them with paper ones, and over the 10 years that have passed since the ban on indelible packages, the capital of the state, the city of Kigali, has changed beyond recognition. It was clean here, and on the streets you will not find a single packet flying or lying on the side of the road. By the way, the ban applies to all foreign citizens arriving in Rwanda. Therefore, do not be surprised if at the airport you confiscate some of your baggage, which is usually packed in plastic bags so beloved by us: the law is the law.

Kenya

Last year, another African country, Kenya, followed Rwanda's example. The sale and use of plastic bags is prohibited, and violation of the law is punishable by severe fines and even imprisonment. Therefore, going to Kenya, remember that plastic bags are prohibited here, and their use can result in 4 years in prison.

Sri Lanka

In this island state, they seriously thought about banning plastic bags after several terrible floods and landslides that caused human casualties. It turned out that storm sewers in cities are clogged with plastic bags. Now in Sri Lanka, plastic bags are completely banned, and for their use you can even go to jail.

Singapore

This country is widely known for its strict environmental standards. Here, under the ban, not only chewing gum, but also plastic bags. They can not be sold and used in the city.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has become another Southeast Asian country that has completely banned the use and sale of plastic bags due to the fact that they lead to clogging of storm sewers and floods.

Against the backdrop of these tremendous efforts, it is worth noting the efforts of Australia, where plastic bags are forbidden in the capital - the city of Canberra, Chile, where it is forbidden to use plastic in the coastal tourist cities, India, where they said no to plastic bags in the city of Mumbai with its multi-million population as well as Japan, where some prefectures banned the use of plastic bags. In many cases, paper bags or biodegradable bags are an alternative to plastic bags. Of course, this is somewhat more expensive than buying a plastic bag, but in the long run the benefits of their use are incomparably higher. There are other countries on the planet that are trying to solve this problem in one way or another.

As can be seen from our selection, defeating plastic is a doable task. Several countries have already embarked on the path of salvation of our planet, now it remains to pay attention to this issue on a global scale. In the meantime, as scientists have calculated, around 2 million plastic bags are sold every minute in the world. And all of them after an extremely short time fall into the environment, poisoning the future of our planet. One can only hope that the era of plastic will come to an end in the near future, because a number of countries have already abandoned the use of this universal evil.