Plastic Bags on the Way Out?

The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., announced last week that it will reduce its plastic shopping bag waste by about 33 percent by the year 2013, which could result in the elimination of more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste worldwide. To meet that goal, reports the San Diego/Union Tribune, Wal-Mart will give out fewer bags and encourage shoppers to use reusable ones.

This announcement “also comes amid a global push to curb the use of plastic bags, which environmentalists say can take up to 1,000 years to disintegrate and pose threats to marine life, birds and other animals,” reports the Tribune.

In West Virginia, Governor Joe Manchin and the WV Legislature must have the courage and the will to be pro-active in banning plastic retail shopping bags. At Wal-Mart and Kroger's, locally, the cloth bags are $1.00 each. They are easy to carry and fit nicely in the trunk of your car.

Would you support a ban on plastic bags in our state?