Plastic bag bans work!

Some good news on plastic bag bans came out of a policy organization – Environment America – highlighted and published by Grist.

Here’s the nutshell

The good news is that states and cities with well-designed single-use plastic bag bans have successfully reduced plastic bag use and associated litter and pollution. Bans in five states and cities that cover more than 12 million people combined – New Jersey; Vermont; Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; and Santa Barbara, Calif. – have cut single-use plastic bag consumption by about 6 billion bags per year. That’s enough bags to circle the earth 42 times. 

Environment America

Putting it on a very personal level,

Adopting a ban on single-use plastic bags that’s similar to those policies could be expected to eliminate roughly 300 single-use plastic bags per person per year, on average. 

Environment America

They go one step further and give you a tool to estimate what a bag ban in your community would produce – I chose the state of Oregon.

While the issue seems wrapped up in most issues within US politically, rather than scientifically. There are politics happening to stop this progress as well, as Grist points out.

Plastic bag bans have their skeptics, however, including those who believe it’s “narcissistic” to support them while still engaging in other environmentally destructive practices, like driving a gasoline-powered car. Others have argued that plastic bag bans are bad for businesses, or that they violate consumers’ freedom to choose plastic. As of 2021, 18 states had passed so-called preemption laws, preventing local governments from adopting their own bag bans.

Grist

The science on how bags (and plastic in general, and especially microplastics) destroy the environment and those that live there is fairly established.

“It feels like there’s a study a week showing that plastics are not just littering and polluting the environment, but digging into our bloodstream,” said Janet Domenitz, executive director of the nonprofit MassPIRG, the Massachusetts branch of the Public Interest Research Group. Plus, microplastics release greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

Grist

Yea – humans are being damaged as well – we do live in the environment after all.

It’s just great to see some good news on the plastic front.