Saturday marks the last day before the ban of free plastic shopping bags comes into effect. Some people doubt whether it is necessary to restrict the usage of plastic bags by charging extra fees. Many consider the new move much ado about nothing since they do not believe banning people from using one or two free bags will really make a difference.

The Beijing Youth Daily cites a survey conducted by a Singaporean research institute, showing that the annual number of discarded plastic bags in Singapore is a whopping 2.5 billion. If we put the number into perspective, each Singaporean is only throwing away two plastic bags every day. With the huge population China has, imagine what it will be like if everyone does the same on a daily basis.

The paper points out that plastic bags take about 200 years to decompose and not surprisingly, they greatly contaminate soil and water sources. If they end up in rivers and sea, they may lead to the deaths of aquatic creatures. Gas from burning plastic bags also severely pollutes the air and harms people's health.

People in some parts of China voluntarily stopped using plastic bags as early as seven years ago. However, the paper says it is far from enough to restrict the notorious "white garbage" only by one's own will. Compulsory act from the government is necessary too.