Plastic Bags

The tortured body of a Mexican police reporter was found on the side of a road in the northern state of Sonora on Friday, a day after he was kidnapped by gunmen while waiting at a car wash, authorities said. Marco Antonio Avila Garcia's body was found inside a black plastic bag near the city of Empalme, about 68 miles (110 kilometers) south of Ciudad Obregon, where he was abducted, said Sonora state prosecutors' spokesman Jose Larrinaga. Larrinaga said police also found a message signed by a cartel, but he wouldn't reveal the message's content.

The tortured body of a Mexican police reporter was found on the side of a road in the northern state of Sonora on Friday, a day after he was kidnapped by gunmen while waiting at a car wash, authorities said. Marco Antonio Avila Garcia's body was found inside a black plastic bag near the city of Empalme, about 68 miles (110 kilometers) south of Ciudad Obregon, where he was abducted, said Sonora state prosecutors' spokesman Jose Larrinaga. Larrinaga said police also found a message signed by a cartel, but he wouldn't reveal the message's content.

SEATTLE - The City Council voted unanimously yesterday to ban single-use plastic bags from groceries and other retail stores. The ordinance also requires a nickel fee for the use of paper bags supplied by stores. Passage was assured after seven of the nine council members agreed to sponsor the bill. Seattle residents use 292 million plastic bags a year, but the city estimates that just 13 percent of them are recycled. The ban is expected to reduce pollution, free up landfill space, and improve the environment, officials said.

Three photojournalists who covered the perilous crime beat in the violence-torn eastern Mexico state of Veracruz were found slain and dumped in plastic bags in a canal on Thursday, less than a week after a reporter for an investigative newsmagazine was beaten and strangled in her home in the same state, officials, colleagues and said. Press freedom groups said all three photographers had temporarily fled the state after receiving threats last year. The organizations called for immediate government action to halt a wave of attacks that has killed at least seven current and former...

Rye will become the first Westchester County community to implement a local law banning plastic bags at checkout counters. Retailers there will be barred from handing out thin plastic bags starting May 7. Dry-cleaning bags and larger, more durable plastic bags will still be allowed. The Journal News ( http://lohud.us/rvZIOT) says Rye's city council approved the ordinance this week. It's modeled on a 3-year-old policy in Westport, Conn. Two other communities in Westchester are considering bans: Mamaroneck (muh-MEHR'-uh-nehk)

The Dutch national railway has an unusual solution for passengers who need the bathroom on a train line designed without them: plastic bags. The rail operator underlined that the bags, introduced Friday, are for use in emergencies only, when a train has stopped and passengers can't be evacuated. The idea has been met with incredulity by politicians and the general public already unhappy with the short-haul "Sprinter" trains' bathroomless design. NS spokesman Eric Trinthamer confirmed Friday the "pee-bag" plan is not a joke.

BEIJING - Declaring war on the "white pollution" choking its cities, farms and waterways, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old - steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers yesterday. The measure eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources. Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness and concern over skyrocketing oil prices.

A report says that more supermarket shoppers in Massachusetts are taking home their groceries in reusable bags. State environmental officials and a group representing food stores said yesterday that there has been a 33 percent reduction in the use of disposable paper or plastic bags since 2007, when the state launched an initiative to promote reusable bags. A dozen supermarket chains comprising nearly 400 stores have been voluntarily tracking the number of paper and plastic bags they use. Some stores sell reusable bags, and some have offered cash...

The town will pick up Christmas trees curbside on trash days Tuesday-Friday. Trees should not be in plastic bags or have lights or ornaments on them. Wreaths will not be picked up. - Steven Rosenberg

Some plastic bottles that are called biodegradable look like regular plastic. What makes them biodegrade after they are thrown away? Plastics are made of polymers, which are long chains of molecules made out of small identical units strung together. For example, polyethylene, which is often used to make plastic bags, is made of lots of ethylene molecules strung together. Molecules such as ethylene are usually derived from petroleum, so these plastics are nonrenewable, and they are quite inexpensive.

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Senate was treated to a show-and-tell of trash last week during a nearly daylong debate on a recycling bill before calling for studies on banning plastic grocery bags and expanding the state's bottle deposit law, rather than incorporating those ideas into the legislation. Senator Mark MacDonald, Democrat of Orange, brought a large black plastic bag full of drink containers to the Senate floor, prompting a pause for a point of order while Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott decided whether the prop comported with Senate rules.

EVENTS Andover: A full slate of topical issues presented by animal rights advocates, combined with animal tricks and demonstrations, will highlight the sixth annual Animal Rights Day. Legal issues related to animal rights and animal cruelty will be addressed by specialists in animal rights law. Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Massachusetts School of Law, 500 Federal St. Free. 978-681-0800, www.animalrightscoop.com. Peabody: In "Rebuilding Lives: Miriam Van Waters and the Framingham Women's Reformatory," living history performer Libby Franck recalls the work of Van Waters for the rights of...

A conservation group says volunteers collected nearly 9 million pounds of trash from coastlines around the world during a cleanup campaign last year. In a report released Tuesday, the Ocean Conservancy says the garbage was collected by nearly 600,000 volunteers who scoured more than 20,000 miles of coastline on Sept. 17 for the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup. The top five types of trash found during the annual cleanup effort were cigarettes, plastic bottles, beverage lids, plastic bags and food containers.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent Malden will begin picking up yard waste starting the week of April 9, the city said Monday. Residents can dispose of winter's detritus in brown paper bags or barrels marked "yard waste. " Rubbish accepted will be leaves, grass clippings, and twigs. No branches, logs, or dirt will be picked up, or material packaged in plastic bags. Residents can also drop off waste to the Malden Department of Public Works yard at 356 Commercial St. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

The Friends of the Middleborough Cemeteries have organized a cleanup of local burial sites, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Volunteers will meet at the Town Hall parking lot, and are encouraged to wear pants, long-sleeve shirts, sturdy shoes, and work gloves. Plastic bags and other collection containers will be provided, but volunteers are asked to bring their own rakes. The work will be relatively light and can be done by virtually anyone, the group says. It is expected to be completed by noon.

ALHAMBRA, Calif. - Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter will go to trial to face charges that he killed the son of his former landlady in California, a Superior Court judge decided yesterday, capping a five-day hearing that shed light on a mystery that began in 1985, when the victim and his wife vanished. Judge Jared Moses said that "there is sufficient cause to believe" that Gerhartsreiter bludgeoned John Sohus to death, then buried his remains. Gerhartsreiter's Boston-based lawyers, Jeffrey Denner and Brad Bailey, said they were not surprised by the outcome because...

The public is invited to attend a viewing of the environmental documentary "Bag It" tomorrow, at 7 p.m. The film will be shown at the West Bridgewater Public Library at 80 Howard St. "Bag It" started as a documentary about plastic bags, but has evolved into an investigation into plastics and their effect on our rivers, oceans, and our bodies. For more information about the Bag It movement, go to www.bagitmovie.com. The "Bag It" screening is sponsored by the Bridgewater Green Committee and the West Bridgewater Public Library.

MADRID — Plastic bags stuffed with a huge amount of cash were stolen from a Spanish convent, whose cloistered nuns include one who is a well-paid artist, and a judge will probe the possibility of tax evasion, police said yesterday. A lawyer for the small community of mostly elderly Cistercian nuns denied any wrongdoing. The money was stored in a closet of the convent in the northeastern city of Zaragoza. A National Police official said the nuns first reported about $2.1 million was stolen Feb. 28, then lowered it to about $556,000.

The town will pick up Christmas trees curbside on trash days Tuesday-Friday. Trees should not be in plastic bags or have lights or ornaments on them. Wreaths will not be picked up. - Steven Rosenberg

SEATTLE - The City Council voted unanimously yesterday to ban single-use plastic bags from groceries and other retail stores. The ordinance also requires a nickel fee for the use of paper bags supplied by stores. Passage was assured after seven of the nine council members agreed to sponsor the bill. Seattle residents use 292 million plastic bags a year, but the city estimates that just 13 percent of them are recycled. The ban is expected to reduce pollution, free up landfill space, and improve the environment, officials said.