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? In Staten Island, perhaps? Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. Ad Choices, Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? 2. Its like time outs. Yeet that wheat. California became the first to introduce regulations banning single-use plastic bags in August 2014. Reader support helps sustain our work. Lets start with paper: the only kind of bag that is, in the most literal tense, tearible. 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. Thats the intended goal of the policy. Christmas: no, were not going to stop. ETHAN: Obviously, bags are the only policy option like we talked about theres fees theres more voluntary approaches You know, with straws, something that intrigued me was default choice modification. Plastic, on the other hand, lasts for a long time. 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. 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. 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. Already in Massachusetts, 32 towns and cities have passed bag bans or fees. And cotton, unlike paper, is not currently recycled in most places. Even then, the question remains as to whether single-use bags are necessarily always worse than reusable ones. 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. What if they used solar or wind? It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. Not So Fast Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. 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. 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. You know, thats a bit of sort of the speculation of why these behavioral changes occurred. Its taken long enough. It honestly sounds like a superhero, doesnt it? ETHAN: Does this mean bag bans are bad or bag alternatives are bad? 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. So have at least 88 localities in California, including the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, plus cities and towns in more than a dozen other states and more than a dozen other countries. What a deal! Talk about consistency! However, it cannot be argued that they are the only components that contribute to Earth's many environmental problems. Single-use plastics seem to be disappearing. In May 2016, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. Thats the percentage the Massachusetts Sierra Club has advocated for at the state level and when lobbying for municipal bag rules. Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? There are also policy options that dont involve bans. Eastern Hemlocks Are Declining. 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? ETHAN: After we drill and frack and insert other PG13 sounding term here, we have to actually turn our fossil fuels into polyethylene. NADJA: Its perfectly harmless, Laszlo. But thats not to say plastic bag recycling couldnt be more widely implemented. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. Thats right, its always the one you most suspect. If you melt a plastic bag down, you can absolutely recycle that polyethylene, and in fact, recycled high-density polyethylene has about a third of the carbon footprint of virgin high-density polyethylene. For example, I talked in our plastic straws episode about something called default choice modification. In other words, rather than emitting carbon, they would take carbon out of the atmosphere. So if its not effective, and its expensive, its not a recommended policy tool. I mean, I know it loves to hang at the cracker plants and all but wouldnt it have more fun hanging out with other creatures of the night? In that case, it was the simple act of instead of automatically giving customers a straw with their drink, bringing the drink without a straw. Plastic Bags Are a Problem. Climate change, they say, isnt the only form of environmental degradation to worry about. To help combat this waste, several American states have enacted bans on plastic grocery bags. So were still figuring it out right now, but weve got a great episode for you today. 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. Paper bags do have some pros over plastic theyre biodegradable, recyclable, compostable, reusable, all the fun -ables. And then if when those you know are no longer possible, can we recycle them? 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. What do they think this is, a Ritz quick scheme? [slam the wrong buzz several times, then rewind] Okay, okay cracker? Again, Im not referring to carbon emissions, Im talking nitrous oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, smog, Sagittariuses, really bad stuff. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Twitter, Follow us on And if not, then maybe totes arent the best alternative. In the last couple weeks, I believe around five of our team members got sick, so weve been struggling a little bit! Electrify everything, California says including trucks and trains. Cause of environmental pollution 2. And thats actually increasing the carbon footprint. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. 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. 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. The court has given itself a deadline extension until late Friday night to decide whether mifepristone should remain legal. ETHAN: Another thing I wanted to bring up part of why I was so excited to talk to you is that there is the word behavioral economics in your work. In fact, every region of the US has a different energy mix. Politicians "looking for something to do" like banning plastic bags routinely do more harm than good. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Often, the problem shifts. This episode of The Sweaty Penguin explores a wide range of issues including plastic bag manufacturing and looks at the shortcomings of some proposed solutions. Last month, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. Only 2.4 percent of the worlds cropland is planted with cotton, yet it accounts for 24 percent of the global market for insecticides and 11 percent for pesticides, the World Wildlife Fund reports. 'Banning plastic bags is great for the world, Right? In fact, 79 percent of microplastics sampled in the marine environment originated from polyethylene specifically. Its like the Snapchat of ocean trash its no YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, but its still relevant. Phytoplankton: How Too Much of a Good Thing Causes Problems. And so when we think about these policies, were balancing these different environmental objectives. There was a 72 percent drop in grocery bag litter in the state just one year after it was fully implemented. Im your host, Ethan Brown. On the disposal side, single-use plastic bags are currently not recyclable, but thats because the bags are so flimsy they can get caught in the machinery. Definitely not the intention. 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. 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 may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Recently, many politicians were in such a hurry to ban plastic bags. Were finding that hybrid bands can be as you know, as successful as the taxes, just standalone taxes. 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. Will we use our cotton tote hundreds or thousands of times? 500 billion plastic grocery bags are used worldwide. Obtain that grain. 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.
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