Hawaii set to ban plastic bags, plastic grass skirts still OK

Hawaii might've been the last state to join the U.S., but it's become the first to ban plastic bags at checkouts in every county. Grocery stores and retailers have until July 2015 to comply, so they'd best set an Outlook reminder and empty their stockrooms of their stash. Going forward, biodegradable bags and paper bags that are at least 40% recycled are OK -- but taking your own tote to the store is encouraged and will probably get you a high five. "Being a marine state, perhaps, we are exposed more directly to the impacts of plastic pollution and the damage it does to our environment," Sierra Club Hawaii director, Robert Harris, said, calling plastic bags "the modern day tumbleweed."