Plastic bag ban hits Italians

Inside Europe | 08.01.2011 | 07:05

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

Italy has officially binned the plastic bag. It's a revolutionary move for a country which accounts for one-fifth of Europe's plastic bag consumption.

A new law came into effect on January 1 that requires stores to supply their customers with biodegradable bags. However, customers are also being encouraged to cart home their goods in reusable cloth bags or shopping carts. But as Nancy Greenleese points out in this postcard from Rome, that may be going a little too green for many fashion-conscious Italians.