Major efforts are underway in the US to either ban or limit plastic bag use.
Matt Lauer of the Today Show walked around New York last week handing out reusable bags. Large stores throughout New York must now provide bins for recycling plastic bags under a bill passed by the City Council.
The city of Santa Monica is voting on February 19th to attach a levy on paper bags. Los Angeles will be voting on the issue in the coming months. San Francisco became the first US city to ban plastic shopping bags last March, and so far the plan has received strong public backing. Others are following suit, such as Oakland, where the plastics industry is taking a legal challenge against the city's decision to implement a ban.
From this summer, China will ban shops from giving out free plastic bags, and has called on consumers to use baskets and cloth sacks. It's uncertain how stringently the ban will be implemented, though. The Australian environment minister recently outlined his hopes to ban all plastic shopping bags by the end of this year.
In the UK, London City Council, frustrated at the lack of movement on the issue, has proposed legislation for a nationwide ban, but there is strong opposition in parliament.
Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda have passed laws banning or restricting the use of plastic grocery bags, while Kenya is expected to follow suit.