banning plastic bags is great for the world, right

Yeet that wheat. But advocates of these laws and journalists who cover the issue often neglect to ask what will replace plastic bags and what the environmental impact of that replacement will be. So were still figuring it out right now, but weve got a great episode for you today. 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. 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 fact, the only place they havent been is Dave and Busters. In some cases, people start buying more plastic trash bags now that they cant use their grocery bags to store trash. Its like excuses for not doing your homework. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. New York State and Hawaii just passed theirs, set to go into effect in 2020, and California's bag ban, which was passed in 2014, has been shown to have reduced plastic bag usage by 85 percent . Plastic bags could also be more sustainable from the production side. And beyond that, ethylene itself is a dangerous pollutant. And then if when those you know are no longer possible, can we recycle them? 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. WIRED 181k followers More information Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? India followed the UK with a . Twitter, Follow us on Spoiler alert: plastics parents got divorced at age eleven and it still isnt over it. All donations matched! I mean, look at all the kids roaming the streets looking for water after eating a single Saltine. Thank you all for listening, and Ill see you next week. Theres no easy answer, says Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which backed NYCs bag fee. How do we do that? Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? For example, I talked in our plastic straws episode about something called default choice modification. People still need bags to bring home their groceries. How do we do that? [wrong buzz, rewind] Cracker? Grist is the only award-winning newsroom focused on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. There are so very many variables. Waste in particular, plastic packaging, how it is used, how it gets discarded. The Australian study concluded that the best option appears to be a reusable bag, but one made from recycled plastic, not cotton. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast - Pinterest And just like that, a step towards zero waste is taken, and it feels good. Heres Why That Matters. Like blueberries or trips to the bathroom, not all plastics are created equal, and single-use plastic bags are typically made from a material called high-density polyethylene. Phytoplankton: How Too Much of a Good Thing Causes Problems. 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. 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. 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. ETHAN: So just to wrap up this point, would you say that its a net positive or negative? And sort of the bottom line, what I found with in terms of like the amount of plastic, was about a third of the plastic that was eliminated by the carry out bag ban came back in the form of garbage bags, which do tend to be a bit thicker than the carry out bags. As the Australian study noted, a cotton bag has major environmental impacts of its own. Right now, one of the best ways to help Grist continue to thrive is by becoming a monthly member. 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? 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. And so its the sort of carrots versus sticks story, the sticks of the taxes seem to be much more effective than the carrots of the bonuses. Paper bags do have some pros over plastic theyre biodegradable, recyclable, compostable, reusable, all the fun -ables. Some social justice activists who work in low-income urban neighborhoods or communities of color also argue that plastic bags are a particular scourge. Follow us on And so when we think about these policies, were balancing these different environmental objectives. How do you tackle microplastics? 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. Definitely not the intention. 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. Proposition 67, also known as SB270, officially passed in November 2016, prohibits plastic bags . Some are funded by plastic industry groups, like the ironically named American Progressive Bag Alliance. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Not So Fast Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? Plastic, on the other hand, lasts for a long time. And so because of that bands have been more popular. High costs for cleanup 8. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. Not only are there these human health concerns, but crackers and other petrochemical facilities are not located very fairly. How Do We Protect Them? Whats more? And I think thats the topic I dont know enough about. Then, that ethylene can be sent to a new plant where theyll add a catalyst which initiates a chemical reaction and forms our high-density polyethylene. 'Banning plastic bags is great for the world, Right? 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. Its taken long enough. Thats the intended goal of the policy. There are so very many variables. 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. Three reasons why banning plastic bags is problematic - The Conversation The instinct to favor reusable bags springs from an understandable urge to reduce our chronic overconsumption, but the bags we use are not the big problem. 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. Thats right, the solution to single use plastic isnt bans, its awkwardness! [bell ring] Like blueberries or trips to the bathroom, not all plastics are created equal, and single-use plastic bags are typically made from a material called high-density polyethylene. One of the biggest battery recycling plants in theUSis up and running. Theyre less than five millimeters across and they are everywhere, from the oceans to mountaintops to the Arctic to our food and blood. TAYLOR: Yes. That said, it doesnt have to hit these communities hard if they have access to reusable bags. The shift from one single-use bag to another single-use bag may improve one environmental outcome, but be offset by another environmental impact.. Anything thats not zero gets, you know a pretty big impact. The Permian Basin Hosts the Highest Emitting Oil and Gas Project in North America. [slam the wrong buzz several times, then rewind] Okay, okay cracker? Over Half of the Worlds Penguin Species Are Threatened, A New Natural Gas Project in Mozambique Gives Locals All of the Costs and None of the Benefits. So when you do lifecycle assessments of these two different types of material, paper bags end up being much worse on sort of their upstream, the manufacturing side, so its a bit concerning to also see the shift to paper. Studies of bags environmental impacts over their life cycle have reached widely varying conclusions. "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For The World, Right? In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Even studies conducted with the purest of intentions depend on any number of assumptions. 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. ETHAN: But first, its time for Plastic Bags 101. Because we do see such a strong response of having to pay for your bag, when you have to pay for your bag, it makes it an active decision, instead of just default, getting a whole bunch of bags that you dont really think about, we find that bag taxes are actually as effective as bag bans, and getting people to change their behavior, potentially without some of the unintended consequences of completely eliminating an option making people switch to other bags, which might actually be more harmful for the environment. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. First, we transport our fossil fuels to a type of petrochemical plant called a cracker. Cracker? 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? Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group. 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. I guess the name does make sense. Rather than automatically using a bag, just ask the customer for. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. Politicians "looking for something to do" like banning plastic bags routinely do more harm than good. As compared to plastic bags, paper bags also require significantly more energy and water to manufacture, and more energy to transport since theyre heavier. Did you just finish trick or treating? Because with any product, its important to think about all those three dimensions, can we as consumers reduce the amount that were using? And behavioral economics really explores a lot of that. Obviously, a cotton tote does have a much longer life than a plastic or paper bag, but we also have to be honest with ourselves. I hardly know her! Even if bags arent the worst offender though, theyre a very hot topic and in my opinion, a really really interesting and misunderstood one, so Im very excited to talk about it today. ETHAN: When something causes as many issues as plastic bags, it may seem tempting to ban it. But that understanding of each bags impact is not taken into account when we make a sweeping plastic bag ban. This really needs to be top priority. 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. 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 . And honestly, a little sketchy that ethylene cant handle sunlight. Or is it a little too nuanced to make that type of assessment? the more right . Its taken long enough. Better alternatives are available 10. ETHAN: Given all this nuance weve explored pertaining to carry out bags, grocery bags, is there any advice you have for individuals who want to do their part? Rough Draft 14 - Writing - The Effects Of Plastic In the essay You get merch, bonus content, and more. Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? - Classytutors 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? The measure now under consideration in Massachusetts, for example, would mandate that single-use paper bags contain at least 40 percent recycled fiber. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice.

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