And I think thats the topic I dont know enough about. So Im trained in thinking about how People respond to environmental [00:00:32] policy and particular and the policies that I focused on have been around waste and food. Whereas the small taxes are very effective. I also looked at paper bags as well. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World Right Have a listen. [wrong buzzer, rewind] Cracker? ETHAN: So just to wrap up this point, would you say that its a net positive or negative? Cracker plants release air pollutants such as benzene which is linked to cancer and childhood leukemia, toluene which is linked to birth defects and brain, liver, and kidney problems, formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen, and particulate matter which is linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and lung and bladder cancer. Will we use our cotton tote hundreds or thousands of times? LASZLO: Am I? As far as I know, nobody has done the definitive analysis, which would necessarily need to have a large number of caveats and qualifications. LASZLO: Oh, alright, if itll shut you up. And all of these materials do better? Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast 12 Compelling Reasons For Banning Plastic Bags [2023 Update] - MindsetEco Some bills, like in Massachusetts, try to reduce the use of paper bags as well as plastic, but still favor paper. Special thanks to our Emperor Penguin patrons Lawrence Harris and Brownies Central. Studies of bags environmental impacts over their life cycle have reached widely varying conclusions. ITS INSATIABLE! Donate today to keep our climate news free. [slam the wrong buzz several times, then rewind] Okay, okay cracker? But on the other hand, paper has a much higher carbon footprint than plastic, its much more water intensive, its much more energy intensive to produce. Winters are becoming less and less predictable due to climate change, but you dont have to worry because the second you put on a long sleeve shirt and jeans, youll be hearing Mariah Carey blast on every radio in town. Eat one less meat dish a week thats what will have a real impact on the environment, says Tyler. How Do We Protect Avocados From Drought, Deforestation, and Drug Cartels? The Permian Basin Hosts the Highest Emitting Oil and Gas Project in North America. Every so often, our star fires off a plasma bomb in a random direction. If a plastic bag is reused in the home as the garbage bag in a bathroom waste bin, does that reduce its footprint by eliminating the need for another small plastic garbage bag? Christmas: no, were not going to stop. But it turns out that charging people to use bags is not the same as paying them to bring reusable bags. Right now! How do we do that? New York's ban will take effect in 2020 but will apply to single-use plastic bags you can get at grocery stores or retailers. [end filter] Never mind, that was underwhelming. What she finds is actually leave the bag bonuses really dont have an effect. We talked about a whole list of issues in our first segment, and those dont vanish. Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed by many retail businesses and require a charge of 10 cents or more for a recycled paper or reusable bag. [bell ring] Like blueberries or trips to the bathroom, not all plastics are created equal, and single-use plastic bags are typically made from a material called high-density polyethylene. They were reusing their carry out bags as garbage bags. In fact, every region of the US has a different energy mix. So if its, if it makes it into the environment, it stays there, it breaks into smaller pieces, it gets blown around the world, many different ecosystems. Often, the problem shifts. Scientists are working on that, and according to a 2021 thesis study from LUT University in Finland, if that process were powered by clean energy, plastic bags made from carbon dioxide could actually be carbon negative. Increasingly, environmentalists are pushing for laws that include fees for all single-use bags, and that require paper bags to be made with recycled content, which could lower their carbon footprint. You can try, but nine times out of ten, its going to rip your original in half. This material which is widely used worldwide has been an issue for years now and these readings gives some explanation on why. You can order the T-shirt plastic bags in wholesale from Bags . Doing either earns you a special shoutout at the end of the show; joining the Patreon gets you merch, bonus content, and a whole lot more. And to be fair, it is an issue. So paper bag usage did increase quite a bit. Australia has had a plastic bag ban since 2018. In the case of using a tax, the government is also then able to raise some money, which can be used to either lower taxes elsewhere or go toward environmental cleanup efforts or most importantly, turning Niagara Falls into a waterslide. Definitely not the intention. Instagram, Follow us on [wild west sting] Once ethylene is turned into plastic, its not harmful, youre not going to get a disease just by touching a plastic bag, unless its March 2020 when every cashier in America was convinced thats how Covid spreads. Im curious, in your work looking at plastic bags or plastic in general, if there have been any cases of people being irrational actors in the market that just really surprised you or stood out to you. Plastic bags are not biodegradable and can do great harms to wildlife. Theres no easy answer, says Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which backed NYCs bag fee. Obviously, a cotton tote does have a much longer life than a plastic or paper bag, but we also have to be honest with ourselves. Yeah, that was even rough for my standards. Eastern Hemlocks Are Declining. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. If we do that, well see less polluted oceans, improved public health, and maybe, for the first time in history, Polly wont want a cracker. They say Hanukkah gets eight nights as if its special, but with Christmas, you get six whole months! Youre being ridiculous. So if you have a policy in your own city, but the next city over doesnt, and you decide to shop in then next city over to avoid the policy. If you want to take two minutes to help out The Sweaty Penguin, you can either leave us a five star rating and review or join our Patreon at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. Cracker plants release air pollutants such as benzene which is linked to cancer and childhood leukemia, toluene which is linked to birth defects and brain, liver, and kidney problems, formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen, and particulate matter which is linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and lung and bladder cancer. California and Hawaii banned them, then New York. Thats right, its always the one you most suspect. TAYLOR: Yeah, I would love to see the conversation, sort of move more. Do single-use plastic bans work? - BBC Future Banning plastic bags may come with unintended consequences - TechCrunch There are so very many variables. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Now, a new law hopes to take things a step further by banning these: single-use plastic pre-checkout bags that are not recyclable and can contaminate compost facilities. As the Australian study noted, a cotton bag has major environmental impacts of its own. Does it get recycled? In fact, every region of the U.S. has a different energy mix. "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For The World, Right? Fees have a smaller, but still significant, effect. The U.S. is the number two producer of polyethylene in the world behind China, and in the U.S., 80 percent of our primary petrochemical supply is in Texas and Louisiana. I mean, throw some Dijon on there and youve got lunch! Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. But thats not to say plastic bag recycling couldnt be more widely implemented. Now, for various reasons, political reasons, taxes are often not favored by politicians, because people dont like the word tax. So when you do lifecycle assessments of these two different types of material, paper bags end up being much worse on sort of their upstream, the manufacturing side, so its a bit concerning to also see the shift to paper. And cotton, unlike paper, is not currently recycled in most places. In fact, we can take it a step further. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but its the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. I also got retail data from the store on what people were purchasing, in particular, what kinds of garbage bags they were purchasing. Because of that, the climate impact of a cotton tote is 131 times that of a plastic bag, and its overall environmental impact is thousands of times worse. Cotton is a crop that requires massive amounts of water and energy to produce. Then Christmas is for you. Unlike reusable fabric bags, plastic bags can take lifetimes to biodegrade.Over that time, their light weight allows them to be carried long distances, causing environmental havoc along the way. We use [drumroll] oil and gas! Thats one idea that Ive seen floated all over the internet. ETHAN: And that wraps up episode 106 of The Sweaty Penguin. Or is it a little too nuanced to make that type of assessment? After the break, well discuss where bag bans have shown shortcomings, the pros and cons of other types of grocery bags, and some other solution ideas that havent gained the same level of popularity as Dijon-crusted plastic. And so many of these supermarkets have actually rolled back their policies. Often they need to be reused at least 100, if not more times, to be more environmentally friendly than those thin plastic bags that were so familiar with. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For the World Right Questions 1-5.docx But are bans on plastic bags or reusable alternatives like tote or canvas bags viable solutions to the worlds plastic problem? Rather than automatically using a bag, just ask the customer for. Whos building these things, Triscuit? The adverse impacts of plastic bags are undeniable: When theyre not piling up in landfills, theyre blocking storm drains, littering streets, getting stuck in trees, and contaminating oceans, where fish, seabirds, and other marine animals eat them or get tangled up in them. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. And just a few weeks ago, California took it one step further, banning not just single-use plastic bags at checkout, but those smaller produce bags as well. Even studies conducted with the purest of intentions depend on any number of assumptions. In fact, eight states have gone so far as to ban single-use plastic bags, and over 200 counties and municipalities have enacted ordinances either imposing a fee on plastic bags or. And those seven ethylene projects are concentrated in just three counties in Texas: Harris County, Jefferson County, and Brazoria County. Paper does have its own environmental consequences in terms of how much energy it takes to generate, acknowledges Emily Norton, director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club. Proposition 67, also known as SB270, officially passed in November 2016, prohibits plastic bags . Thats a border shopping behavior. Plastic bags are made from non-renewable sources and on this account, highly contribute to climate change. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast But for UPROSE, that concern is outweighed by the negative impacts of plastic bags on disadvantaged communities. And cotton, unlike paper, is not currently recycled in most places. Not So Fast by Ben Adler The author of the piece Ben Adler agrees that plastic bags have an adverse impact on the environment. It argues that while banning plastic bags may be good for the environment, it is not as simple as it seems. The shift from one single-use bag to another single-use bag may improve one environmental outcome, but be offset by another environmental impact.. Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. Made from fossil fuels 3. Heres Dr. Taylor discussing some of her research on that front. Plastic bags not only destroy the physical infrastructure, she says, referring to the way they clog up storm drains and other systems, they contribute to emissions. And she points out that marine plastic pollution is a threat to low-income people who fish for their dinner: So many frontline communities depend on food coming from the ocean. Thats why her group supported New York Citys bag fee even though its more of a burden on lower-income citizens. Its been more than five years since single-use plastic bags like these were banned from grocery stores, a ban advocates say made strides for the environment. Did you just finish trick or treating? To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Seeing how nuanced this issue is, I asked Dr. Taylor what the next steps could look like. India followed the UK with a . There was a 72 percent drop in grocery bag litter in the state just one year after it was fully implemented. Follow us on TAYLOR: Its a great question, I would say its a bit nuanced, because that was just respect with respect to the plastic bags. In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. Problematic degradation 4. Not So Fast Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. The New York State Plastic Bag Task Force, convened by Governor Andrew Cuomo in March 2017, found that a hybrid ban on plastic bags along with a fee on alternatives is more effective than a simple ban. Yeet that wheat. On The Pros and Cons of Banning Plastic Bags by John Stossel 12 Reasons for Banning Plastic Bags: Plastic Bags Are Made With Non-Renewable Energy Plastic Bags Use Up Lots Of Energy Plastic Bags End Up In The Ocean Beach Plastic Litter Is On The Rise Plastic Bags Kill Millions Of Animals Every Year Plastic Takes A Long Time To Disintegrate Plastic Is Harming The Ocean's Coral Plastic Bags Contain Toxins ETHAN: The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. Listen Up America: You Need to Learn How to Recycle. Improperly discarded bags have polluted waterways, clogged sewers, and been found in oceans, affecting the ecosystem of marine creatures. In Staten Island, perhaps? I took a look at a 2017 Congressional Report which found the petrochemical industry was, at the time, pursuing 48 new plastics-related projects in the Houston area. Because with any product, its important to think about all those three dimensions, can we as consumers reduce the amount that were using? Yes, this was a paper that was interested in how sometimes we dont always think about how people respond to policies, theyre sort of the obvious response. ETHAN: And youve written several papers on plastic bags, Ill start with your paper that won the Journal of Environmental Economics and Managements Best Paper Prize in 2020, which discussed some of the unintended consequences of plastic bag bans. Instagram, Follow us on Many supermarkets have experimented with bag bonuses trying to get people to reuse their either bags by giving them five cents, and they havent found them to be particularly effective. Plastic bags not only destroy the physical infrastructure, she says, referring to the way they clog up storm drains and other systems, they contribute to emissions. And she points out that marine plastic pollution is a threat to low-income people who fish for their dinner: So many frontline communities depend on food coming from the ocean. Thats why her group supported New York Citys bag fee even though its more of a burden on lower-income citizens. Whats more? In other words, rather than emitting carbon, they would take carbon out of the atmosphere. As longtime plastic bag adversary Ian Frazier recently reported in The New Yorker, In 2014, plastic grocery bags were the seventh most common item collected during the Ocean Conservancys International Coastal Cleanup, behind smaller debris such as cigarette butts, plastic straws, and bottle caps. The New York City Sanitation Department collects more than 1,700 tons of single-use carry-out bags every week, and has to spend $12.5 million a year to dispose of them. Heres just one tiny example: Does the paper for paper bags come from a recycled paper mill on Staten Island or a virgin forest in northern Canada? Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. In fact, the only place they havent been is Dave and Busters. Some are funded by plastic industry groups, like the ironically named American Progressive Bag Alliance. In all seriousness, theres drawbacks here too. 4 Absent the fee, which provides the economic incentive to bring reusable bags to the store, simple bans tend to shift consumers from one type . But in terms of plastic, you are correct. Saying go to your room doesnt actually solve anything, but hey, its easier than having an intelligent conversation with a six-year-old. Some social justice activists who work in low-income urban neighborhoods or communities of color also argue that plastic bags are a particular scourge. Or do state governments get to say, when local governments do implement the policies, theres a concern that it causes a patchwork of policies that might harm businesses, confused customers. Some social justice activists who work in low-income urban neighborhoods or communities of color also argue that plastic bags are a particular scourge. Climate change, they say, isnt the only form of environmental degradation to worry about. And so my recommendation is to use as few bags as you can reuse the ones that you do purchase and purchase your bags, make it an active decision. In fact, they may even feel too awkward to ask for one. Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed So were still figuring it out right now, but weve got a great episode for you today. But what I do know I find so fascinating. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? As longtime plastic bag adversary Ian Frazier recently reported in The New Yorker, In 2014, plastic grocery bags were the seventh most common item collected during the Ocean Conservancys International Coastal Cleanup, behind smaller debris such as cigarette butts, plastic straws, and bottle caps. The New York City Sanitation Department collects more than 1,700 tons of single-use carry-out bags every week, and has to spend $12.5 million a year to dispose of them. And I also looked at not just shopping at a supermarket across the border but also eating out Instead of grocery shopping, and I do find that there is this, you know, substitution, this cross border shopping, some people do try to avoid going to, you know, regulated supermarkets, especially if they live near a border, where they can easily get to another another grocery store, while other customers if they dont live near a border, they might be slightly more likely to decide to eat out for dinner as opposed to grocery shopping, especially if they didnt bring their bags with them or that party. And buy the thinnest reusable bag that you know, youll actually reuse. Not So Fast" by Ben Adler focuses on the states attempting to end giving out plastic bags for free hoping to reduce plastic waste. Why Banning Plastic Grocery Bags Could Be A Bad Move : NPR (Cindy) Works Cited. The ideal city bag policy would probably involve charging for paper and plastic single-use bags, as New York City has decided to do, while giving out reusable recycled-plastic bags to those who need them, especially to low-income communities and seniors. Plastic is a toxin that stays in the environment, marine animals ingest it, and it enters their bodies and then ours.. The Supreme Court Has Delayed Its Abortion Pill Decision. People still need bags to bring home their groceries. Then Oregon, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont passed laws against them. ETHAN: After we drill and frack and insert other PG13 sounding term here, we have to actually turn our fossil fuels into polyethylene. [wrong buzz, rewind] Cracker? And when I no longer had access to those carry out bags, it meant I didnt have this quote unquote, free source of garbage bags anymore. ETHAN: Today we are talking about bags: a word that simultaneously means a container with an open top used for carrying things, a lot of money, and any goal youve ever had in your life. Thats like opening a Papa Johns right next to a Little Caesars. Why We Shouldn't Ban Plastic Bags Those are the kinds of topics that I focus on in my research. AD READER: This episode of The Sweaty Penguin is brought to you by Christmas. One of the biggest battery recycling plants in theUSis up and running. On one hand, we are reducing the amount of litter. And in particular, stores start offering thicker plastic bags and sticker paper bags for free. One of the most comprehensive research papers on the environmental impact of bags, published in 2007 by anAustralian state government agency, found that paper bags have a higher carbon footprint than plastic. For example, because paper bags take up so much more space, more trucks are needed to ship paper bags to a store than to ship plastic bags. Microsoft quietly supported legislation to make it easier to fix devices. Its what we put in the bag at the grocery store that really matters.. [string music, inspired by What We Do In The Shadows]. A single mom, or someone working two jobs, is more likely to have to do her shopping in a rush on the way home from work than to go out specifically with a tote bag in hand. A pound of cotton requires more than 5,000 gallons of water on average, a thirst far greater than that of any vegetable and even most meats. ETHAN: Welcome to episode 106 of The Sweaty Penguin: Antarcticas Hottest Podcast. TAYLOR: Thanks. The adverse impacts of plastic bags are undeniable: When theyre not piling up in landfills, theyre blocking storm drains, littering streets, getting stuck in trees, and contaminating oceans, where fish, seabirds, and other marine animals eat them or get tangled up in them. Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? | Grist Again. Three reasons why banning plastic bags is problematic - The Conversation Its not easy being a green consumer, in part because there are these different dimensions of environmental impact. But advocates of these laws and journalists who cover the issue often neglect to ask what will replace plastic bags and what the environmental impact of that replacement will be. Have a listen. "Exactly what happens to a plastic bag when it is littered depends very much on where it enters the environment and the mechanisms that cause it . The past and future are tightly linked in conventional quantum mechanics. And so whats really interesting is just adding a small price to each, each bag, you know, five cents, we see really large behavioral changes just with that small price. TAYLOR: Yes. But what if reusable bags arent good either? Thats the intended goal of the policy. 10 Reasons Why Plastic Bags Should Be Banned | Greentumble Choking the oceans with Plastics. The Pros and Cons of Plastic Bag Bans | Dumpsters.com One of the most comprehensive research papers on the environmental impact of bags, published in 2007 by an Australian state government agency, found that paper bags have a higher carbon footprint than plastic. Not so fast. A Canadian Gas Field Is Polluting First Nation Communities, How Climate Change, Poverty, and Social Stigma Affect Menstrual Hygiene. The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. Not good places to be adding more polluting facilities. Even studies conducted with the purest of intentions depend on any number of assumptions. Single-use plastics seem to be disappearing. ETHAN: And the list of policy approaches goes on and on. Or, another idea, what if plastic could be made directly from carbon dioxide that we suck from the atmosphere? "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Our world faces increasingly severe hurricanes, wildfires, floods, heat waves, and more, but grocery bags have somehow become one of the hottest environmental topics. [slam the wrong buzz several times, then rewind], Okay, okay cracker? Businesses may be reluctant to engage in default choice modification because customers might not realize the law and think theyre just getting bad service. Its right up there with Taylor Swifts jet, Beyond Burgers, and figuring out which soup is best for throwing at artwork. Thicker, reusable bags are still available for purchase for 10 cents. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. And beyond that, ethylene itself is a dangerous pollutant.