plastic bags

Air Bear, Garbage Bag Sculpture by Joshua Allen Harris

"Look, it's art!" exclaims a passer-by as the plastic garbage bags tossed in a pile on a New York Subway grate come to life.

Artist Joshua Allen Harris invites the viewer into a world where life and death cycles in time with the public transport system. TreeHugger meditation for a Saturday afternoon: what do you think about when you watch waste come to life, garbage art imitating n...

photo by greenhem via flickr

We recently reported how China's scheme to ban free plastic bags in stores eems to be working in reducing their consumption, with people apparently turning to the most eco-friendly option: reusable cloth bags. And we also recently presented the low-down on the life-cycle analysis of paper versus plastic bags. Well, Kazuko Nakano, professor of recycling science at Kobe Yamate University in Japan, has...

Paper or plastic bags: which is better?
It's an age old question, when it comes time to check out when grocery shopping: paper bag or plastic bag? It seems like it should be an easy choice, but there's an incredible number of details and inputs hidden in each bag. From durability and reusability to life cycle costs, there's a lot more to each bag than meet the eye. Let's take a look behind the bags.

Where do brown paper bags come from?
Paper comes from trees -- lots and lots of trees. The logging industry, influenced by companies like

This past Thursday, before the madness of the 4th of July set in, the City of El Segundo, California held its first ever Environmental Expo. Summer was in full swing as people shopped for organic corn and grass fed beef to grill, and for green bikinis to wear, over the holiday (And you know you are in Southern California, when there is a booth at an environmental expo with green bikinis.)
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photo by Ethnocentrics via flickr

It may be have only been in place for a month so far, but initial reports by the Worldwatch Institute show that China’s ban on free plastic bags is having a definite impact.

In Guangzou City the use of plastic bags in supermarkets has been cut in half, while in some supermarkets in Beijing use of plastic bags has dropped by 90 percent.
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