Maybe call the manager over or fly the CEO in on a helicopter or pull the fire alarm so everyone starts screaming and running. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Plastic Bags Are a Problem. Right now, one of the best ways to help Grist continue to thrive is by becoming a monthly member. The Supreme Court Has Delayed Its Abortion Pill Decision. A substantial shift to more durable bags would deliver environmental gains through reductions in greenhouse gases, energy and water use, resource depletion and litter, the study concluded. ETHAN: Like, come on, we dont need more toxic chemicals in one spot! Was Implementation the Right Theme for COP27? High costs for cleanup 8. Hopefully its not laced with xylene! But not just anywhere. How many plastic bags are replaced by one cotton tote bag? "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For The World, Right? That way youre reducing the amount of material thats going into the product, but you still want it to be something that youll actually find convenient and reuse with you. Advocates for plastic bag bans often neglect to ask what will replace plastic bags and what the environmental impact of that replacement will be. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. So paper and plastic as litter paper, you know, decomposes, it breaks down, its not as harmful to the environment, if it if its litter. Theres no easy answer, says Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which backed NYCs bag fee. 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. 500 billion plastic grocery bags are used worldwide. Australia has had a plastic bag ban since 2018. Plastic is a toxin that stays in the environment, marine animals ingest it, and it enters their bodies and then ours.. But studies conducted in Australia or Europe have limited applicability in the US, particularly when youre considering climate impact, because every country has a different energy mix. Instagram, Follow us on There are also policy options that dont involve bans. Already in Massachusetts, 32 towns and cities have passed bag bans or fees. debut in season five. In fact, every region of the US has a different energy mix. Whats more? If they were going to use a slur for white people, why not name it Karen or Wonderbread? Polyethylene, however, is recyclable. Bag bans cut this litter off at the source: In San Jose, California, a plastic bag ban led to an 89 percent reduction in the number of plastic bags winding up in the citys storm drains. Adler, Ben. Our world faces increasingly severe hurricanes, wildfires, floods, heat waves, and more, but grocery bags have somehow become one of the hottest environmental topics. But University of Sydneys Dr. Rebecca Taylor says not so fast. They say Hanukkah gets eight nights as if its special, but with Christmas, you get six whole months! This is often called border shopping. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast 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. 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. TAYLOR: When I put my economist hat, the sort of first tool that I really think that policymakers should consider is a small fee, or a tax on all the different types of carry out bags. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. They are a lot easier to carry than many other shopping bags out there. NADJA: Its perfectly harmless, Laszlo. Do local governments get to say how these products are regulated? Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. But if communicated to the public well, I think its an interesting idea, and Id be curious to see if a similar approach could work with bags. The Permian Basin Hosts the Highest Emitting Oil and Gas Project in North America. And to be fair, it is an issue. ETHAN: Clips today came from 23 ABC News. Cracker? Theyre just not very effective. But for UPROSE, that concern is outweighed by the negative impacts of plastic bags on disadvantaged communities. The Bad Astronomer Takes You on a Tour of the Cosmos. No, of course not. Because with any product, its important to think about all those three dimensions, can we as consumers reduce the amount that were using? Spoiler alert: plastics parents got divorced at age eleven and it still isnt over it. Others, like in New York City, treat all single-use bags equally. Theyre less than five millimeters across and they are everywhere, from the oceans to mountaintops to the Arctic to our food and blood. ITS INSATIABLE! Not So Fast" by Ben Adler focuses on the states attempting to end giving out plastic bags for free hoping to reduce plastic waste. A lovely tote made from single use plastic bags. And I think thats the topic I dont know enough about. [string music, inspired by What We Do In The Shadows]. India followed the UK with a . Its what we put in the bag at the grocery store that really matters.. Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. It honestly sounds like a superhero, doesnt it? In fact, 79 percent of microplastics sampled in the marine environment originated from polyethylene specifically. But that understanding of each bags impact is not taken into account when we make a sweeping plastic bag ban. Not So Fast' by Ben Adler & 'Choking the oceans with plastic' by Charles J. Moore. Even studies conducted with the purest of intentions depend on any number of assumptions. Again, Im not referring to carbon emissions, Im talking nitrous oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, smog, Sagittariuses, really bad stuff. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Washington, D.C.s 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. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. Or, another idea, what if plastic could be made directly from carbon dioxide that we suck from the atmosphere? And these different dimensions? Made from fossil fuels 3. Nakuru, Kenya In the open-air Wakulima Market thin plastic shopping bags have disappeared, banished by Kenya's national bag ban. 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? In accordance with the budge bill passed last year, New York State retailers will be banned from doling out single-use plastic bags, starting on March 1. Not So Fast. 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 banning them. But when ethylene gas escapes the facility and is exposed to sunlight, it turns to smog, which has been associated with increased rates of asthma, lung and respiratory infections, and cardiovascular problems. And beyond that, ethylene itself is a dangerous pollutant. Thats right, nothing like getting high on your own supply. Every time you need to process a new batch of polyethylene, you bring it to the facility and say, Polly want a cracker? [ding ding ding] Wow, that was a tough one. Now, there are a few challenges to implementing a monetary policy like this. Rough Draft 10 - Written progress - 'Banning plastic bags is great for Not so fast. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For the World Right Questions 1-5.docx We use. With a referendum in November 2016, California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures, which keeps an active list of American laws. So some of my recent research was looking at to what extent do we actually see border shopping occur? And honestly, a little sketchy that ethylene cant handle sunlight. [booo] Yeah, that was even rough for my standards. Single-use plastics seem to be disappearing. 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. And beyond that, ethylene itself is a dangerous pollutant. Some bills, like in Massachusetts, try to reduce the use of paper bags as well as plastic, but still favor paper. In May 2016, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. Killing wildlife 5. ITS COMPOSTABLE! This paper in particular was interested in a California policy, which is a ban on thin plastic, carry out bags, and a fee for paper bags of about 10 cents, usually, sometimes five cents. Plastic bag bans are spreading. But are they truly effective? Its right up there with Taylor Swifts jet, Beyond Burgers, and figuring out which soup is best for throwing at artwork. But if communicated to the public well, I think its an interesting idea, and Id be curious to see if a similar approach could work with bags. What I found was a net benefit, we were still reducing more plastic than this rebound effect. 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. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Never mind, that was underwhelming. ETHAN: And the list of policy approaches goes on and on. 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.
Fall Baseball Leagues Illinois,
Is Betty Barnaby Fiona Dolmans Daughter,
Can A Notary Be A Witness In Michigan,
Monica Seles First Husband,
Andrea Gail Crew Photos,
Articles B