Plastic Bag Bans Work, a new report released Thursday by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier
From the article:
Until recent decades, most shopping didn’t involve single-use plastic bags. That could be the case again soon. Recently enacted plastic bag bans across the United States have proven that people can still shop without plastic bags – and benefit their communities by doing so. Plastic Bag Bans Work, a new report released Thursday by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group, estimates that, on average, plastic bag bans similar to those studied can eliminate almost 300 single-use plastic bags per person, per year. Studied bans have also reduced plastic bag litter by one-third or more and encouraged the use of more sustainable options. “The bottom line is that plastic bag bans work,” said U.S. PIRG Education Fund President Faye Park. “People realize quickly it’s easy to live without plastic bags and get used to bringing a bag from home or skipping a bag when they can. That means less waste and less litter. For our children to inherit a less polluted earth, that’s exactly what we need.”
This study published last year found that plastic bag bans or taxes/fees reduced plastic bags in shoreline litter by 25-47%.
I will note that this issue is sometimes oversimplified--compared to other disposable bags, plastic bags are the most environmentally friendly in every way (the water, energy, and land needed to produce and ship them for example) except that they contribute to plastic waste and litter. So the goal needs to be replacing disposable plastic bags with long-lasting reusable bags--if you're replacing all the plastic bags with paper bags you're potentially swapping one environmental ill for another.
The authors of the study also researched the most effective means of systemic change around disposable bags and recommended banning plastic bags of any thickness and charging an at least 10 cent fee per single use paper bag as the most effective strategy. Which is being implemented in many places!
