Using Ireland's successful plastic bag tax as a model, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing a 20 cent "green fee" on all disposable bags. Read more...

Our Take: Kudos to Mayor Nickels! This is big news - we've been laying down the challenge to US politicians for several years to take the bold move and implement a Plastax modeled initiative. (For the record, San Francisco did attempt a "loosely" based model in 2005 which failed.) With Ireland's disposable-bag use down 90 percent, Seattle is on the right track. Plastic industry interests will work hard to derail this since in all likelihood it will start a trend... it will be interesting to see what happens. What do you think? Comment here...

The movement to curb plastic bag use and production is gaining in popularity because of cities like San Francisco- the first US city to prohibit large stores from distributing disposable plastic bags. Now the plastics industry is fighting tooth and nail to prevent the trend from spreading across the United States. Read more...

Our Take: While recycling has its place, recycling won't solve the problem... An item that really stood out in this article was the shocking information that an amendment prohibiting local governments from imposing fees on plastic bags was snuck into an otherwise benign mandatory recycling law passed in California. This is a bold move we assume will be overturned at some point...

Across the globe politicians and corporations are debating the effectiveness of plastic bag bans versus plastic bag taxes. Ireland, Italy and Belgium all tax plastic sacks, while places like San Francisco and China are banning them all together. Read more...

Our Take: Our founder was interviewed for this article - here is a quote: "A tax charged at checkout is what we need to change consumer behavior. Plastic bags aren't inherently bad; it's the mindlessness and volume of consumption."

Thanks to friend of ReusableBags.com, Dave S. for turning us on to this clever artist, Joshua Allen Harris. He has crafted inflatable animals by tying plastic bags to subway grates in New York. The effect is very cool and a bit haunting. Watch the video...

As more and more cities and states consider plastic bag bans and tax proposals, companies are beginning to weigh their options. Biodegradable plastic bags are designed to quickly break down. But where does the plastic go?... The story also cites a staggering statistic: every year US plastic bag consumption = nine billion pounds. Listen to story...

Our Take: The plastic polymers are still there, but they are out of sight! These may become a popular choice for big brand companies/marketers looking to reduce negative exposure when their bags are hooked in trees and laying on sidewalks. While on the surface biodegradable bags may seem like a good idea, there's a host of problems associated with them (e.g. A proliferation of biodegradable plastic bags will really screw up recycling efforts, they don't get at the heart of the problem: consumption, etc. - click here for more...) This is a perfect example of a seemingly good idea that truly does more harm than good.)

We've all experienced frustration at the checkout counter when a bagger uses a different plastic bag for each item or even worse, double bags our groceries for "extra support". Now that the practice of using reusable bags is catching on, it seems that the new common challenge is confusion at the checkout. Read more...

Our Take: Several readers' comments brought up the fact that the el cheapo "99 cent" reusable shopping bags have a tendency to fall apart - one of a number of problems associated with the explosion of "freebie" reusable shopping bags being produced by many retailers. Our advice is to resist accumulating cheap bags and invest in a handful of well-designed, attractive, durable ones that you will actually use for years to come.