France is set to become the latest nation to ban single-use plastic bags in shops following a vote in the National Assembly Friday on a wide-ranging Energy Transition bill, repirrts FRANCE 24.
The ban will come into force in 2016 if the bill is approved by the Senate, although it will not apply to re-usable or biodegradable bags.
The proposed law will also outlaw disposable plastic cutlery and crockery by 2020, a measure introduced by members of France's EELV Green Party which wanted the rule enforced by 2017.
The delay was forced by environment minister Ségolène Royal, who said families on low incomes "rely on plastic cutlery and crockery" that they often re-use.
France isn't the first country to impose an outright ban on plastic bags, which are blamed for polluting countrysides and marine ecosystems.
In 2012 Haiti outlawed all plastic bags and packaging in a bid to protect its coastal mangrove swamps.
Bangladesh also banned plastic bags, which were blamed for blocking sewage systems and exacerbating extreme flooding events.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.