Would You Like Paper, or Swirling Maelstrom of Lifelessness in the Pacific?

Hoarding plastic bags beneath the sink? Time to bring them back to the store. New York City retail stores may be required to set up in-store recycling programs for plastic bags, [Reuters reports]. The city council will vote soon on the proposal that would force all stores larger than 5,000 square feet to [accept used plastic bags from customers](http://www.nysun.com/article/65586) and sell reusable bags not made of plastic.  More than 700 stores fit the bill in the city, so this could easily affect your actual life, in a small way.

The reason for the proposal is concern over the environmental impact of everything plastic. Reports of a [continent-sized mass of floating plastic debris] devastating marine life in the Pacific Ocean continue to be quite accurate. And recent advancements in [biodegradable plastics](http://itotd.com/articles/540/biodegradable-plastic/) have been mostly lackluster exercises in economically unsuccessful environmentalism. So while we shop and throw away our bags every day, millions of jellyfish are suffocating in blah blah blah...  Recycle your goddamn plastic bags!

The law would follow similar, stricter rules in place in Ireland, California and parts of Australia (honestly, we think California seems more like a separate nation every day).  If passed, this proposal does not represent a ban on bags, but the day could come soon enough.

[Photo courtesy of inhabitat.]