(email from Gill Bevington)

The last issue of Horizons reported on a ban on plastic carrier bags in Zanzibar.
Zanzibar is in fact only one of a growing number of countries around the world that has taken action against plastic carrier bags. Countries that have banned plastic bags include Botswana, Rwanda, India and Bangladesh. Other countries have opted to tax the bags instead (including South Africa, Denmark and Ireland) and in some other countries voluntary agreements have been made between retailers and the authorities to reduce distribution of bags, including the UK.

The focus is on lightweight bags, with heavier plastic bags exempt from bans in some countries.

Governments justify the initiatives by citing environmental problems, most commonly: plastic bags can get stuck in drains and sewers, causing flooding; they get blown about by the wind and litter the countryside or get caught in trees; and they are a hazard to marine life - sea creatures sometimes swallow them, causing suffocation. They are not usually biodegradable, and some governments have also taken steps to promote the use of degradable bags. However they are not associated with the release of poisonous fumes, as your article suggested.

I'm sure that many Explore travellers find plastic bags indispensable for shoes, toiletries, etc as I do. So it is also up to each of us to deal responsibly with the bags, at home or abroad. We should dispose of them carefully and take care not to litter them.

And we should try to reduce the number of bags in circulation by taking a reusable bag instead when we go shopping and refusing the plastic bag. And when travelling, there is often the option of buying a durable bag in a local market, which also has the benefit of supporting local crafts

Gill Bevington

P.S. Re the poisonous fumes and burning - I have never seen this cited as a reason for action against carrier bags. Some people believe that burning PVC (which contains chlorine) can give rise to dioxins, although the scientific evidence for this is not clear cut. But carrier bags are not made of PVC - they are made of polyethylene (PE), which doesn't contain chlorine.

Many thanks, Gill, for clarifying this. (Edtior)