Bermuda to impose island-wide ban on plastic bags

BERMUDA, Hamilton (CMC):

Bermuda is planning to follow China and impose an island-wide ban on plastic bags, public works minister and deputy premier, Derrick Burgess, has said.

Burgess told the House of Assembly that the bags had a lifespan of up to 400 years and caused serious harm to the environment. "We are proposing to ban plastic bags," he said, adding, "plastic bags have been around since 1950. Some of those bags will still be around."

He said when the bags got in the sea and were eaten by fish, they could be deadly. "Right now, you can get the biodegradable corn-starch bags instead of plastic bags, so there are alternatives to plastic." Burgess said that "some severe laws and penalties" would be introduced to punish fly-tippers, as well as householders who put dangerous items in their trash, such as animal faeces and acid.