Reuters: The European Parliament passed a directive on Wednesday aimed at cutting the use of thin single-use plastic carrier bags by 50 percent by 2017 and 80 percent two years later. The directive leaves it to individual states to choose their strategy, for example taxing bags or banning them. EU ministers are due to debate the law in June and the parliament will take it up again later this year following elections in May. Some 100 billion plastic bags are used every year within the European Union and...