Do Plastic Bag Bans Work? - NRDC Again, because this is what I tell people all the time. ETHAN: Plastic bag bans also can negatively affect businesses. 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. Paper bags do have some pros over plastic theyre biodegradable, recyclable, compostable, reusable, all the fun -ables. Rough Draft 14 - Writing - The Effects Of Plastic In the essay The big difference is that paper does biodegrade eventually. Electrify everything, California says including trucks and trains. 2. And paper bags, when you compare them to plastic bags, they are environmentally more environmentally friendly in some ways, but in other ways, theyre less environmentally friendly. 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 . They are not the largest sources of plastic pollution Plastic waste is indeed a. Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. 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. The shift from one single-use bag to another single-use bag may improve one environmental outcome, but be offset by another environmental impact.. Now theres a breakthrough. Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? 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. What do they think this is, a Ritz quick scheme? You can order the T-shirt plastic bags in wholesale from Bags . Do local governments get to say how these products are regulated? [deep echoey filter] ITS INSATIABLE! The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. In a rational model. 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. ETHAN: Hopefully ethylene makes its What We Do In The Shadows debut in season five. As far as I know, nobody has done the definitive analysis, which would necessarily need to have a large number of caveats and qualifications. 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. Rather than automatically using a bag, just ask the customer for their bags, or maybe even stop keeping bags at the register at all. In fact, every region of the US has a different energy mix. 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. Maybe call the manager over or fly the CEO in on a helicopter or pull the fire alarm so everyone starts screaming and running. (The crunchy rich should already have more than enough tote bags from PBS and Whole Foods.). Course Hero, a tutoring business last valued by investors at $3.6 billion, has cut 15% of staff, or 42 people its first round of layoffs . Its not easy being a green consumer, in part because there are these different dimensions of environmental impact. 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. In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. [wind blowing, floors creaking, various night time sounds]. Before I jump in, were trying out a little bit of a different format today. California became the first to introduce regulations banning single-use plastic bags in August 2014. Not a fan of arcade games, I guess. ETHAN: Now, it is worth noting that a single-use plastic grocery bag takes about 20 years to break down in the environment about as long as it takes the average to break down. ITS COMPOSTABLE! Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast - Pinterest Washington, DCs government estimates that its 5-cent bag tax has led to a 60 percent reduction in the number of these bags being used, although that figure is contested by other sources. ETHAN: But first, its time for Plastic Bags 101. Its right up there with Taylor Swifts jet, Beyond Burgers, and figuring out which soup is best for throwing at artwork. Now, for various reasons, political reasons, taxes are often not favored by politicians, because people dont like the word tax. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. That's why any good plastic bag ban attempts to avoid a surge in paper bag use by also implementing a paper bag fee, ideally nudging shoppers to bring bags from home instead. Nearly one year after New York became the second state in the nation to pass a ban on grocery store plastic bags the law is going into effect on Sunday. First off, I had a lot of cracker jokes, but more importantly being a heat intensive process, the production of plastic bags requires a good amount of energy, and it should come as no surprise that these petrochemical facilities typically use natural gas for their electricity source. The Permian Basin Hosts the Highest Emitting Oil and Gas Project in North America. 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? Some bills, like in Massachusetts, try to reduce the use of paper bags as well as plastic, but still favor paper. Thats like opening a Papa Johns right next to a Little Caesars. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? 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. WIRED 181k followers More information Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? | Grist And in particular, stores start offering thicker plastic bags and sticker paper bags for free. So the unintended consequences. 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. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. How do we make polyethylene? The Supreme Court Has Delayed Its Abortion Pill Decision. Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. And the most common substitute, paper bags, may be just as bad or worse, depending on the environmental problem youre most concerned about. 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. Microplastics can be ingested by anyone from seabirds to fish to even humans through our food and water, and can cause health issues, reduce appetites, and even increase the risk of mortality. The larger takeaway is that no bag is free of environmental impact, whether thats contributing to climate change, ocean pollution, water scarcity, or pesticide use. The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. Businesses may be reluctant to engage in default choice modification because customers might not realize the law and think theyre just getting bad service. In a queer vacation hot spot on Cape Cod, an ad hoc community proved that Americans can stifle large outbreaksif they want to. So I wont rehash it all today, but if you listen to our episodes on fracking or the Permian Basin or the Haynesville Shale, youll learn a little bit about the villain origin story of plastic bags, and some of the many issues to which they contribute. Its what we put in the bag at the grocery store that really matters.. You would think five cents to reuse a bag would have a state similar behavioral response is five cents to not use a bag to have to pay for than plastic bag. But University of Sydneys Dr. Rebecca Taylor says not so fast. Cracker? The first time you say your dog ate it, its a funny story, but by the fifth time, youre definitely going to fail first grade. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Instagram, Follow us on We talked about a whole list of issues in our first segment, and those dont vanish. As the Australian study noted, a cotton bag has major environmental impacts of its own. ETHAN: Seven of those 16 projects were related to ethylene or polyethylene, including the five highest polluters of the group. So I am an environmental economist. So if its something thats easy to keep in your car, or in your purse or in your backpack that you know youll reuse, then thats going to be the bag for you. Still, many environmentalists argue that plastic is worse than paper. I know it sounds silly, but it would make a difference. What do they think this is, a Ritz quick scheme? I know youve done some comparisons on different strategies and looked at this more holistically. ETHAN: Welcome to episode 106 of The Sweaty Penguin: Antarcticas Hottest Podcast. Plastic bags are not biodegradable and can do great harms to wildlife. 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. Thats right, nothing like getting high on your own supply. But not just anywhere. In all seriousness, theres drawbacks here too. In fact, it may not even be the most effective option. Cities and states across the country are banning plastic bags, but those bans may be having unintended consequences. 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. Microsoft quietly supported legislation to make it easier to fix devices. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. Throwing This Out Here: Plastic Bags Are Amazing and You Should Appreciate Them More, Trash Is Ugly, But Recycling Is Downright Beautiful. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For The World, Right Not So Fast But are bans on plastic bags or reusable alternatives like tote or canvas bags viable solutions to the worlds plastic problem? In fact, every region of the U.S. has a different energy mix. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. I mean, throw some Dijon on there and youve got lunch! People look at [paper] and say its degradable, therefore its much better for the environment, but its not in terms of climate change impact, says David Tyler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon who has examined the research on the environmental impact of bag use. Its like trying to send paper through a really old copier. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For the World Right Questions 1-5.docx When the plastic bags were banned in California, paper bags were still allowed with the feet. A lot of the waste ends up in our communities, says Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE, an environmental and social justice-oriented community organization in Brooklyn. Hopefully its not laced with xylene! How many plastic bags are replaced by one cotton tote bag? Thats leading to a split in the anti-bag movement. Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? 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. [wrong buzzer, rewind] Cracker? And so this was an unintended consequence of the policy. 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. Take two minutes, help out the show, and get a shoutout at the end of the show by leaving a five star rating and a review on Apple or Podcast Addict OR join our Patreon at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. Yeah, that was even rough for my standards. Rather than automatically using a bag, just ask the customer for. ETHAN: So just to wrap up this point, would you say that its a net positive or negative? The reasons for papers higher carbon footprint are complex, but can mostly be understood as stemming from the fact that paper bags are much thicker than plastic bags. Phytoplankton: How Too Much of a Good Thing Causes Problems. The Bad Astronomer Takes You on a Tour of the Cosmos. Waste in particular, plastic packaging, how it is used, how it gets discarded. In 2018 though, 68.1 percent of paper consumed in the United States was recovered for recycling, which is a really impressive number, although its worth noting that paper fibers become weaker each time theyre recycled, so there are still limitations to that. Anyway, at a cracker plant, they use extreme heat to crack the molecular bonds in the oil or gas to produce a new gas called ethylene. 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. Right now! Australia has had a plastic bag ban since 2018. Adler, Ben. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Monthly or one-time, donate now when all donations will be matched by a generous group of donors. I also got retail data from the store on what people were purchasing, in particular, what kinds of garbage bags they were purchasing. Then Oregon, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont passed laws against them. It may not be big enough. These US states have banned plastic bags | World Economic Forum Whats more? Studies of bags environmental impacts over their life cycle have reached widely varying conclusions. Now, obviously, there are still benefits of reducing our consumption of plastic. And an estimated 10 million tons of plastic are discarded in the ocean yearly. Those are the kinds of topics that I focus on in my research. Spoiler alert: plastics parents got divorced at age eleven and it still isnt over it. So I was really interested to see what the data would say about this were people having to buy more garbage bags now that the plastic bags that they got from grocery stores were no longer available. [knock on door, door creaks open, then Laszlo starts coughing uncontrollably]. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. What if they used solar or wind? 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. Not So Fast. 1- Out of all the bags that are currently available in the market, plastic bags are the most convenient for consumers. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. [booo] Oil and natural gas are also made of carbon and hydrogen, so in addition to using them for energy, we process them into plastic. The court has given itself a deadline extension until late Friday night to decide whether mifepristone should remain legal. California and Hawaii banned them, then New York. And the most common substitute, paper bags, may be just as bad or worse, depending on the environmental problem youre most concerned about. Now, Im not sure how far along plant plastic or CO2 plastic are in the development process, but certainly very exciting possibilities if they could scale up. NADJA: Will you at least go and talk to it? 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. The Australian study concluded that the best option appears to be a reusable bag, but one made from recycled plastic. [slam the wrong buzz several times, then rewind] Okay, okay cracker? Not so fast. South African Lobster Vs Maine Lobster, Elizabeth Donnelly Actress, Articles B
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