International Plastic Bag Free Day
Next: July 3, 2027
Bring your own bag today.
The story
Where it comes from
International Plastic Bag Free Day began in Catalonia. Rezero, a Catalan member of the network Zero Waste Europe, held the first Plastic Bag Free Day on 3 July 2008, at a time when single-use bags had become the best-known symbol of a throwaway way of life. The idea caught on, and in 2009 Zero Waste Europe took it across Europe. By 2013 there were hundreds of actions around the world, and the campaign helped push many governments to charge for or ban single-use bags.
How it's celebrated
Campaigners hold clean-ups, stalls and swap events, and urge shops and governments to cut single-use bags. The simplest way to take part is to carry a reusable bag, say no to a plastic one at the till, and find a second life for the bags already stuffed in a kitchen drawer.
Did you know
- Bangladesh was the first country in the world to ban single-use plastic bags, in 2002.
- Ireland put a levy on plastic bags in 2002 and cut their use by more than 90 per cent.
- Since 3 July 2023, Singapore's large supermarket operators have had to charge at least five cents for each disposable carrier bag.
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