No future for plastic bags

Paper or plastic? No more… plastic is on its way out and the move is toward B.Y.O.B. (bring your own bag, not bottle). Plastic bags are typically thrown away after one use, do not break down easily in the environment, fill landfills, and float into trees, rooftops, roadways and oceans. Americans throw away almost 100 billion plastic bags every year, and only 1 percent to 3 percent are recycled, leaving the rest to clog streams, foul landscapes, and kill birds and marine mammals.

Is paper better than plastic? Paper bags, which many people consider a better alternative to plastic bags, carry their own set of environmental problems. For example, according to the American Forest and Paper Association, in 1999 the U.S. alone used 10 billion paper grocery bags, which adds up to a lot of trees. And some industry reps say it takes more energy to recycle a paper bag vs. plastic.

Reusable Bags Are Best for Both Consumers and the Environment. Reusable cloth bags are much more eco-friendly and you can help by using them as alternatives to paper or plastic.

Governments worldwide are now banning plastic bags.

According to Planetsave, in March 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the US to ban plastic bags in major supermarkets and pharmacies. Only biodegradable plastic and recyclable paper are now allowed. New York and New Jersey require retailers that use plastic bags to offer a recycling program, the city of Oakland, California, is considering a ban. Los Angeles County supervisors recently backed off a threat to ban plastic shopping and grocery bags. Instead, officials chose the weakest of five alternatives recommended by county executives: a volunteer program that leaves it to supermarket and store owners to coax customers into packing their purchases in reusable containers.

Whole Foods recently announced that by April of this year it would end the use of plastic bags in all of its 270 stores in the US, Canada and the UK. Whole Foods had previously tried to get customers to buy reusable bags, but the concept did not catch on until they began offering them for 99 cents. Whole Foods Markets from New Jersey to Virginia began giving away one free reusable bag per customer in January to encourage shoppers to bring their own bag. The bag is made from 80% post-consumer waste, has a washable surface and holds as much as a standard paper grocery bag. Whole Foods officials estimate that the store currently distributes 150 million plastic bags a year. As of Earth Day 2008 (April 22, 2008), Whole Foods will not be bagging food in plastic anymore. Paper bags made from 100% recycled paper, and totally recyclable will remain an option for customers who don’t bring their own bags, and the store will still provide plastic for bagging produce, meats and fish. But plastic grocery bags will be gone. At only 99 cents each the reusable bags are a bargain and every time you use them, you get a 5 cents/per bag refund on your grocery bill.

Other countries are ahead of the United States in finding ways to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment.

• In Bangladesh polythene plastic bags have been banned completely – the government is promoting bags made of jute, a natural fiber.
• Ireland took the lead in Europe, taxing plastic bags in 2002. Customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. The Irish government says the tax has reduced the use of disposable bags by 90 percent! The tax also raised millions of dollars in revenue..
• In Britain, which uses 13 billion single-use plastic bags a year, or more than 200 per person, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the country’s biggest supermarket chains to cut use faster than planned and said Britain can eliminate them altogether.
• The European Union member countries require manufacturers/producers of plastic bags and other plastic waste to take them back and recycle them.
• Taiwan and South Africa both prohibit the thinner plastic bags – this encourages people to bring their own bags since retailers can’t afford to provide the more expensive, thicker plastic bags for free.
• China announced a countrywide free plastic bag prohibition in January.
• The City of Paris decided to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags in large stores in 2007, in an effort to reduce pollution.
• Israel, Canada, western India, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Singapore have also banned or are moving toward banning the plastic bag.
• Australia announced it plans to end plastic bag use in supermarkets, with its new environment minister saying on Thursday he wants a phase-out to start by the end of 2008. “There are some 4 billion of these plastic bags floating around the place, getting into landfills, ending up affecting our wildlife, and showing up on our beaches while we are on holidays,” Environment Minister Peter Garrett said on Thursday.

There is no dispute that plastic bags are harmful to the environment. Why stop using plastic bags?

1. Plastic bags are made with petroleum or other natural gases, which are nonrenewable sources that emit fossil fuels during processing. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil are used to make the bags the U.S. consumes each year.
2. The bags themselves can take from 400 to 1,000 years to break down, and their constituent chemicals remain in the environment long after that, environmental groups say. But even if they start degrading within a few months, they leach hundreds of toxic chemicals into the soil as they do so. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces which contaminate the soil and waterways, killing animals that accidentally ingest them.
3. They travel very well due to their light weight, causing even those in trash receptacles to fly into the natural environment, poisoning piscivorous sea mammals and birds who think they are jellyfish and choking unlucky animals such as seals and penguins. They clog drains, worsening floods and septic system blockages which can lead to public health hazards and property damage.
4. Because they are so cheap to make, they are currently used at a rate of 60,000 bags per 5 seconds in the U.S. alone. In January, about 42 billion plastic bags were used worldwide, according to reusablebags.com . The majority are not recycled or reused , ending up in landfills or as litter.

But, in the United States, the plastic bag is still king.

• Outside supermarkets across the country, Americans push shopping carts laden with a dozen or more bags full of groceries to their cars. Even the smallest purchase ends up in a plastic bag. Although there is some movement to ban the bags, critics say the United States is years behind countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. “We are still in the stage of taking baby steps,” said Eric Goldstein, a director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S. environmental group.
• In the United States, the federal government has been reluctant to impose measures that would interfere with competition and be unpopular with consumers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency encourages reduced use, but does not say how it should be done. “Like most waste management decisions, this is one that is made on the local level,” said spokeswoman Roxanne Smith.
• While reusable cloth bags have gained pockets of popularity, cashiers at most supermarkets still offer “paper or plastic” and the answer is as often as not “plastic.” The few local governments that have taken up the cause favor recycling programs rather than taxes or outright bans.
• The average American family of four throws away about 1,500 bags a year, and less than one percent of bags are recycled, according to Swedish furniture giant Ikea. Last March, Ikea introduced a 5-cent charge for each disposable plastic bag, which it credited with cutting usage by one half. The U.S. plastics and supermarket industries say outright bans lead to a return to paper bags, which cause their own environmental problems. It takes more energy to recycle a paper bag than a plastic bag, according to the plastics industry. (Reporting by Christine Kearney; Editing by Eddie Evans)

The High Cost of Plastic Bags. The billions of plastic bags we use every year are harming the environment. Take a look at these facts, courtesy of EarthResource.org and ReusableBags.com, on the environmental impact of plastic bags.

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion.)
• Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade-breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
• Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
• Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.
• Four out of five grocery bags in the US are now plastic.
• The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.
• Plastic bags are light and hard to contain. Because of their light weight, plastic bags fly easily in wind, float along readily in the currents of rivers and oceans, get tangled up in trees, fences, poles, and so forth, and block the drainage.
• Plastic bags are made from a non-renewable natural resource: petroleum. Consequently, the manufacturing of plastic bags contributes to the diminishing availability of our natural resources and the damage to the environment from the extraction of petroleum.
• Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine mammals die every year after eating discarded plastic bags they mistake for food.
• Discarded plastic bags have become so common in Africa they have spawned a cottage industry. People there collect the bags and use them to weave hats, bags and other goods. According to the BBC, one such group routinely collects 30,000 bags every month.
• Plastic bags as litter have even become commonplace in Antarctica and other remote areas. According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone from being rare in the late 1980s and early 1990s to being almost everywhere in Antarctica.

So, what can be done to Help?

You can help immediately by doing a few simple things:

1. Switch to reusable shopping bags. Reusable shopping bags made from renewable materials conserve resources by replacing paper and plastic bags. Reusable bags are convenient and come in a variety of sizes, styles and materials. When not in use, some reusable bags can be rolled or folded small enough to fit easily into a pocket.
2. Recycle your plastic bags. If you do end up using plastic bags now and then, be sure to recycle them. Most grocery stores now collect plastic bags for recycling. If yours doesn’t, check with your community recycling program to learn how to recycle plastic bags in your area. If you already have a collection of plastic bags from past shopping trips, make sure you reuse them. Take them out with you when you go shopping, or use them to store items.
3. Take a look at what you already have in your house. Beach bags, canvas bags, shopping bags, backpacks, etc. can all be used to carry items home from a shopping excursion.
4. No extra bags in the house? Visit a thrift store, Salvation Army, or yard sale and pick up a handful of cheap bags.
5. Need more options? You can find a good selection of high-quality reusable bags online at reusablebags.com. In addition, many organic grocery stores and consumer co-operatives carry reusable shopping bags.
6. 6. And finally, here’s a tip to help you remember to take your reusable bags to the store on your next visit. After you unpack your groceries, put all the bags inside a main bag, and put the main bag with your car keys. The next time you go to your car, take the bags and toss them in the back seat or the trunk. The bags won’t clutter a kitchen cupboard or closet, and you’ll always have reusable bags when you shop.

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