Ikea trashes plastic bag

Multinational retailer IKEA finally shelved their use of plastic bags after their one-year program of selling the bags for 5-cents each.

IKEA said more than 92% of their customers opted on not buying their plastic bags during the program. The company decided to stop offering plastic bags as well as paper bags altogether starting October 1.

IKEA already stopped offering plastic bags in the UK last year in July, and IKEA Australia last year December.

Plastic bag bans worldwide are spreading like wildfire but a recent report from the Times of London noted exaggerated numbers quoted by environmental groups on animal deaths due to plastic bags.

In an article from ICIS Chemical Business, several chemical companies and industry groups also noted some of the false myths clinging to plastic bags' villainy to the environment as well as the potential consequences of plastic bag bans.

The chemical industry is currently promoting recycling as a more viable solution to plastic bag littering. According to the American Chemistry Council, recycled plastic bags are currently being used to manufacture decks, fencing and other outdoor living products.

Major plastic bag recycler and deck producer Trex Company said an average 500 sq. foot deck that they manufacture contains about 140,000 recycled plastic bags. The company recycles 1.5bn grocery bags each year to manufacture Trex products.