Students of Malibu High School’s Environmental Club and the Malibu Boys and Girls Club’s “Green Teens” group spelled out RETHIaNK to send a message to the Malibu council about banning plastic bags.

WESTPORT - A few Representative Town Meeting members are attempting to succeed where the state recently failed by passing a law that would ban retail stores from giving out plastic shopping bags.

Supermarkets and other large retailers will have about six months to comply, smaller vendors up to a year. The action follows a number of other efforts in California to ban plastic bags. An ordinance unanimously adopted by Malibu’s City Council this week will soon make plastic bags a thing of the past among its 13,000 residents and four supermarkets.

BEIJING, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Chinese government announced on Friday that the national ban on shops giving out free plastic bags to customers will be enforced with hefty fines as of June 1, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

PORTSMOUTH �" The Portsmouth High School junior who wants the city to ban plastic bags is attempting to get his ordinance before the City Council, and councilors Monday night said they were willing to listen to the proposal.

A draft ordinance calling for the reduction of single-use checkout bags requires convenience and grocery stores to stop using plastic and paper bags within a year, if it is approved, and retailers, including downtown merchants, would be mandated to do the same two years after that.Some retailers said any ban on plastic or checkout bags is uncalled for and they will consider legal action.

CLIFTON �" The city’s battle against a ubiquitous environmental menace �" the plastic grocery bag �" has yet to spark citywide “green” consciousness, but it’s gaining ground, says Recycling Coordinator Al DuBois.