Movement To Ban Plastic Bags In Iceland Gaining Ground

Thousands of Icelanders have signed a petition to ban single-use plastic bags in Iceland, and the idea is not as unrealistic as you might think.

RÚV reports that Þuríður Helga Kristjánsdóttir initiated the petition, which calls upon whoever Iceland’s next Minister for the Environment will be to ban the bags altogether. Nearly 6,000 Icelanders have already signed this petition at the time of this writing.

“Because Iceland is such a small country, it will be easy to form solidarity behind eliminating plastic bags,” she told reporters. “It’s like the government doesn’t trust consumers to take that step. I wanted to show that people are ready, they just need help making the right decisions for the environment.”

The point about Iceland’s size is quite pertinent. Iceland’s population is only about 330,000 people; meanwhile in California – where just over 38 million people live – a ballot referendum was passed this year that bans single-use plastic bags.

Of course, this all rests upon whoever the next Minister for the Environment will be, which we are still quite a ways away from knowing just yet.