The destitution is such that when The Economist's correspondent called with a plastic bag holding orange juice and biscuits, Sarah responded with thanks and asked whether she could keep the bag too.

ECONOMIST: The East European shtetl

"This is for the secretary, " she told the clerk, Celeste Payot, as she handed over the box, which was neatly wrapped in a yellow plastic bag and tied with a steel wire.

CNN: CASH GOING BEGGING

Lest you think I'm one of those injustice-collecting urban paranoids with a tinfoil hat and a plastic bag containing a brisket and a manifesto in tiny handwriting, a New York crazy who has a problem with everybody and everything, I should mention that I grew up with -- and adored -- a dog of my very own.

CNN: I don't love your dog -- and you can't make me!

The inspiring thing about building the Plastiki in San Francisco, it that the city has banned the use of Styrofoam, is done with the plastic bag, and has banned the use of bottled water in government-run buildings.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

They even came with a plastic bag for easy transportation and tissue paper to wrap them.

WSJ: An Enduring Tradition

The company's main product, a mushroom-growing kit, is a cardboard box that houses a plastic bag filled with coffee grounds and mushroom spawn.

CNN: Food waste a new opportunity for entrepreneurs

The inquest was told that, Park who died on his 66th birthday, was found with a plastic bag over his head and a cord around his neck.

BBC: Gordon Park and Carol Park

Ms. JAMES: And I brought the note back with a tiny little bag, little plastic bag or something with some clothes in it.

NPR: Etta James: Still Singing Her Song

In addition to the information he provides on his site, Keller also supplies toolkits for teachers, complete with lesson plans related to plastic, and is the creator of the Bag Monster, a character that visually represents the plastic bag problem.

FORBES: Small Plastic Bag Lawsuit Could Have a Huge Impact on Green Business