Trash bags are thick and use more plastic than typical shopping bags. Your email address will not be published. However, witnessing customer after customer thoughtlessly stuff their purchases in plastic bags is enough to make any environmental advocate cringe. Since 2007, more than 240 local governments in the US have enacted similar policies. Accuracy and availability may vary. So, they measured plastic trash bag sales in counties that have plastic bag bans or taxes, then compared them to plastic trash bag sales in counties that don't. Their findings were stark: In . A few places, such as food pantries and food banks, won't be asked to ban plastic bags on May 4. Plastic Bags Use Up Lots Of Energy. It poses an existential threat to marine creatures. Thanks for subscribing! I totally agree with the opinion that governments should gradually prohibit them from being used for shopping purposes. The ban applies to carryout bags made out of plastic film, which the DEC . They will eventually break down. Plastic bag usage is increasing at an alarming rate, and it is one of the main causes of land and sea pollution as people often dispose of them after one time use. Theyre toxic to human and animal life. Are Plastic Bag Bans Garbage? They've got to be great, right? Plastic pollution could finally be addressed, with people becoming more aware of . "What I found was that sales of garbage bags actually skyrocketed after plastic grocery bags were banned," she says. Thu, Nov 03, 2022. . 1. Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned Because They . We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. What You Should Know, The 7 Most Polluted Bodies of Water in the US, Wind-Powered Ocean Drones and What They Teach Us About the Sea. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Plastic bags, as you may know, have a bad reputation. If this too gets banned then how to keep wet garbage at home Garbage bags of plastic are used to store daily garbage . Delaware. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. The law, which goes into effect March 2020, will apply to most single-use plastic bags provided by grocery stores and other retailers. On top of that, cities that banned plastic bags saw a surge in the use of paper bags, which she estimates resulted in about 80 million pounds of extra paper trash per year. Instead, they break down into dangerous microplastics. Plus, you now have a lovely mess to clean off your stoop. Vancouver moved ahead with a ban of single-use plastic bags on January 1 of this year. The first total ban on plastic bags was introduced in 2002 by the government of Bangladesh after they were found to pollute waterways and drainage systems. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Trash can liners, heavy-duty contractor disposal bags and other plastic garbage bags will still be available for sale. ROSALSKY: You should reuse the same bag over and over again. Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. Ms. Rona . Either way, my plastic usage would in no way decrease - I have a dog and three cats, I re-use every single plastic bag I get from the store, so they wouldn't be eliminating any plastic from me. This bag research makes public radio's love for tote bags awkward, doesn't it? Never throw plastic bags in the trash. The primary justification for their prohibition would be rendered moot, however, if they were to be fabricated from a material that was capable of biodegradation, such as the bioplastics that are now being created in a number of nations in Europe.Nevertheless, even if we switched to a different material, there is no assurance that the damage that plastics cause to the environment would end. Its illogical not to mention detrimental to every other living being on the planet to do anything but switch to sustainable alternatives. Heres the unfortunate deal: that plastic you throw in a landfill will still exist over a thousand years from now. Research suggests that polystyrene particles have adverse immunological effects at the cellular level. By purchasing 4-gallon trash bags, plastic consumption increased by between 30 and 135 pounds per store per month. They clog drains and cause floods, litter landscapes and kill wildlife. This was particularly the case for small, 4-gallon bags, which saw a 120 percent increase in sales after bans went into effect. You can sign up here. Another problem with plastic grocery bags is that their lightweight nature lets the slightest breeze send them airborne. The stores will only be able to sell paper bags or standard plastic garbage bags approved by the Ministry of Environment. Even one dead sea turtle is too high of a price to pay for a convenient way to clean up pet waste. The ban applies to stores and restaurants, not consumers, who will still be able to buy plastic baggies, garbage bags and the like. They are a lot easier to carry than many other shopping bags out there. The problem? But, like, we can't just carry things around in our arms. Plastic bags can prove to be a choke hazard for small animals and people. Under the proposed rules, Canada will ban will plastic garbage bags be banned in canada six single-use plastic items, like straws and six-pack rings, create incentives for companies to use recycled plastic, and force plastic producers to pay for recycling. They could intensify the production of cytokines and chemokines, proteins your body produces to fight inflammation. Plastics are advantageous since they are long-lasting materials, not expensive, resistant to water, and require less energy to produce. Plastic bag ban except for those that are compostable and marine degradable. However, most communities only recycle number one and two the kind found in most types of bottles. We, TechCrunch, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Marine animals eat these microplastics, potentially passing toxins through the food chain. 2- From a retailer's perspective, the thin plastic bags are the most economical of all. Bans have the effect of lowering demand and have the potential to destroy an entire manufacturers market. Taylor recently published a study of bag regulations in California. ADVANTAGES IN REGARD TO DISPOSAL: Reusable bags take up to 9.3 percent more room in landfills once they have been discarded, in comparison to plastic bags. There are quite a number of effects of plastic bags on environment. They fly out of the trucks on the way to the waste facility, land in gutters, flow into waterways and end up in the ocean, where they choke marine life. Remember microplastics, the stuff that larger items break down into? I don't want to have to say this but I have to. Power Play: Ban for some single-use plastics NOW PLAYING. Read more. The sales of 8-gallon trash bags created an additional 37 to 224 pounds of plastic per store per month. VANEK SMITH: So I would say this leaves us with nothing, but there is a kind of bag that I use all the time. TAYLOR: Small garbage bags - they went up by 120% - their sales did. 12 Reasons for Banning Plastic Bags: Plastic Bags Are Made With Non-Renewable Energy. . bags for takeout food, trash bags, and garment bags. Made from fossil fuels 3. NPR Newsletter Editor Greg Rosalsky joined Stacey Vanek Smith on our podcast The Indicator from NPR's Planet Money to explain. The Danish government recently did a study that took into account environmental impacts beyond simply greenhouse gas emissions, including water use, damage to ecosystems and air pollution. Subscribe to Environment.co! Taylor is concerned this will drive up paper use. Harmful to human health 6. In comparison, the production of a plastic bag requires up to forty percent less energy and generates seventy percent less waste material than the production of a paper bag. But a fee offers flexibility for people who reuse plastic bags for garbage disposal or dog walking. NEW YORK A state wide ban on plastic bags means grocery stores, food establishments and other New York businesses must stop using them from March 1, 2020 and in New York City consumers. Plastic Bags End Up In The Ocean. - Quora Answer (1 of 2): Garbage bags of plastic are used to store daily garbage . Bans on plastic bags have a detrimental effect on producers. I'll show you one below: The ban applies to stores and restaurants, not consumers, who will still be able to buy plastic baggies, garbage bags and the like. According to the ministry, selling disposable plastic bags . They're seen as a toxic pollutant that can do great harm to wildlife. However, you could probably watch the store security camera without seeing more than one or two people use them. 24 April 2019 [163] 1 January 2020. First things first, lets take a look at the most compelling arguments in favor of immediately instituting a ban on single-use plastic bags. Taylor thinks a fee is smarter than a ban. All the Yes points: It was only about 40 years ago that plastic bags became standard at U.S. grocery stores. Plastic carry bags are disposable rather than reusable And they found a person would have to use a cotton tote bag 131 times before it was better for climate change than using a plastic grocery bag once. In Canada, bans on plastics have so far . Well, let's have a look at the most important reasons why single-use plastic bags should be banned right now. Bans in New York, Maine and Vermont are scheduled as early as next month, while in several cities, restrictions have been implemented without the adoption of state-led legislation. All rights reserved. For six months, they spent weekends in grocery stores tallying the types of bags people carried out (she admits these weren't her wildest weekends). Clean Ocean Action has been fighting for decades to ban the . For more info, check out this article on why we should ban plastic bags. Medium bags went up by 60%. But you have to use way more energy to create them. That said, these bans do reduce nonbiodegradable litter. Problematic degradation 4. Now, that bag should probably not be organic cotton. Well, it looks even better in your inbox! The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. The federal government is moving to ban many single-use plastics over the next 18 months including plastic bags, takeout containers, and single-use plastic straws. Cities should not limit the use of plastic bags since the benefits of using plastic bags significantly exceed the alternatives that are now available, despite the fact that it appears that plastic bags are leaving a significant carbon imprint on the earth and poisoning our seas. April 12, 2019 Shutterstock Governments are increasingly banning the use of plastic products, such as carryout bags, straws, utensils and microbeads. Her name's Rebecca Taylor. Trash bags continue to be allowable to purchase in stores . 1- Out of all the bags that are currently available in the market, plastic bags are the most convenient for consumers. This particular bag is filled with other plastic bags, and many households across the country have a big plastic bag filled with other (smaller) plastic bags. Then, when a customer at the store asks for plastic bags, they're reusing with zero effort. Reasons Why the Use of Plastic Bags Should Not Be Banned Alternatives to Plastic Bags Are Not Necessarily an Improvement. These factors make cloth bags even worse. Thick plastic bags. His passions are photography and bird watching. They're not biodegradable. "So about 30 percent of the plastic that was eliminated by the ban comes back in the form of thicker garbage bags," Taylor says. In April 2019, New York became the second US state to impose a broad ban on single-use plastic bags. Contact Now; Linkedin; YouTube; Home . On top of that, cities that banned plastic bags saw a surge in the use of paper bags, which she estimates resulted in about 80 million pounds of extra paper trash per year. A 2017 study conducted by Recyc-Qubec, a Quebec recycling group, found that the reuse for such bags was more than 77 per cent. Don't Throw Plastic Bags In The Trash. Businesses must charge a minimum fee of 15 cents for paper bags, which will increase to 25 cents in. ROSALSKY: So I talked to this economist. But those bans may be having unintended consequences. Are paper. Thick plastic bags. Some states and hundreds of cities have now passed bans on plastic bags or demanding a fee if you use one. Plastic bags end up stuffing landfills, clogging sewers, polluting animal habitats and even fluttering in trees for years. 1. Many folks feel virtuous when they repurpose plastic bags but more often than not, they still end up polluting the planet and choking wildlife. In 2020, the Government of Canada conducted an analysis of available data to determine which items meet the requirements for the proposed ban. Should plastic banned or not? Bans have the effect of lowering demand and have the potential to destroy an entire manufacturer's market. What states ban plastic grocery bags? They're seen as a toxic pollutant that can do great. Companies will be. The inventor of these things may have meant well, but they created an ecological catastrophe. What can I do for you? They are also resistant to the effects of a wide variety of substances and are less prone to tearing. Plastic straws, dinnerware and bags often dont make the cut. Some states ban plastic bag use but far more allow them with abandon. During the 2020 legislative session, the Legislature passed a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags, an effort to reduce plastic pollution, litter, and waste. Hawaii. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over three million tons of these sacks already occupy said spaces. Want the latest updates on environmental news and sustainable living? The best policy, Taylor says, imposes a fee on both paper and plastic bags and encourages reuse. That's because they're both equally effective when it comes to the goal of encouraging reuse. Plastic bags make up the majority of the waste that may be seen on the streets. ROSALSKY: And that led to a huge increase of paper use. A recent study conducted by the Reason Foundation found that prohibiting the use of plastic bags would not necessarily contribute to the protection of the environment.In point of fact, prohibiting the widespread use of plastic bags will result in an increase in the amount of water used in the production of bags, in addition to an increase in the amount of oil and other resources for energy that are not renewable, while not significantly reducing the amount of waste. Bags distributed at the meat/deli counter and bulk food area are exempt, as well as newspaper bags, trash bags . Plastic also emits some radiation. By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. Copyright 2019 NPR. Maine. Steve is the managing editor of Environment.co and regularly contributes articles related to wildlife, biodiversity, and recycling. They collect in landfills and oceans, never fully biodegrading and creating pollution that lasts for generations. Plastic bags are responsible for 39 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than paper bags that have not been composted, while composted paper bags are responsible for 68 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Starting March 1, stores in New York State will be banned from giving single-use plastic bags to customers at checkout as the New York State Bag Waste Reduction Law goes into effect. Plastic Bags Kill Millions Of Animals Every Year. This has the potential to have a large influence on the employment rates in a community. Plastic bags remain a big problem for the country's sewer systems and waterways. Worse, they can clog machines, causing problems recycling items that the facility can normally handle. But then there's kind of the broader policy question. Use of Other Types of Plastic Bags Has Increased, A negligible portion of the overall problem with litter, There Is No Sanitary Standard for Reusable Bags, The Price Would Be Too High for the Less Fortunate, Contribution to the Environment That Is Greatly Overestimated, It is more cost effective for businesses to use plastic bags, The Many Benefits of Plastics Extreme versatility and the capacity to be adapted to the precise requirements of certain technological applications, When compared to other materials, less weight results in less fuel usage during transportation, Good qualities in terms of both safety and cleanliness for food packing, Resistance to the effects of collision, water, and chemicals. light-weight plastic bags commonly found at supermarket, takeaway food and other retail checkouts. READ: Montreal's ban on plastic shopping bags takes effect. So any store that is not a supermarket a department store,. Plastic bag restrictions may result in a manufacturing reducing its workforce or perhaps ceasing its operations entirely. This toxicity poses severe risks to the planets ecology and human life. They require cutting down and processing trees, which involves lots of water, toxic chemicals, fuel and heavy machinery. It's a classic tale of unintended consequences. For years, the government in New Delhi has been trying to combat the problem with regulatory measures.