March 23, 2008 - ...for plastic shopping bags worldwide is 500 billion.About 100 billion are used annually by Americans.Four of five grocery bags in the United States are plastic.Plastic bags are among the 12 most common items collected in coastal clean-ups.About 3.9 percent (1.4 million tons) of all plastics in 2003 were recycled.Ireland imposed a tax on plastic bags in 2002 and they have all but disappeared from use.Bangladesh bans them.