Italy is considered rather Traditional with 2500 years of History and Culture, a Land of 3 Epochs, and a country of continuing Artistry and Innovation. On the other hand, California a US state in 1850, (only 161 years ago) is  considered one of the most Progressive states, yet Italy banned the Plastic Bag, while California failed.

California's complete failure to ban the bag was one of our biggest eco fails of 2010. However, where California's state legislature failed, the nation of Italy succeeded. As of New Year's Day, 2011, Italy's retailers are legally banned from providing single-use plastic bags to customers. That's big news, firstly because it's believed that Italy is the first government in the EU to entirely ban polythene bags and secondly because it impacts such a large amount of pollution. Italians actually use a fifth of all of the plastic disposable bags distributed in the EU.

For the record, Ireland, while they did not ban the bag, imposed a EU 0.15 tax on them in 2002 that ended up dramatically reducing plastic bag use. And while the Italian government is emphasizing the importance of this new legislation, many Italians are echoing the same sentiments that kept the legislation from being passed by a scared California government.

http://www.tinygreenbubble.com/eco/environmental/
item/1316-hey-california-italy-banned-the-bag
 
 

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