banning plastic bags is great for the world, right

Never mind, that was underwhelming. ETHAN: And that wraps up episode 106 of The Sweaty Penguin. Now, for various reasons, political reasons, taxes are often not favored by politicians, because people dont like the word tax. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. bags, or maybe even stop keeping bags at the register at all. 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. CLIP: Its been more than five years since single-use plastic bags like these were banned from grocery stores, a ban advocates say made strides for the environment. In accordance with the budge bill passed last year, New York State retailers will be banned from doling out single-use plastic bags, starting on March 1. We talked about a whole list of issues in our first segment, and those dont vanish. "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For The World, Right? TAYLOR: Thanks. Saying go to your room doesnt actually solve anything, but hey, its easier than having an intelligent conversation with a six-year-old. ITS PAPER. Have a listen. ETHAN: Specifically, well be talking about grocery bags. Thats a border shopping behavior. There are so very many variables. The shift from one single-use bag to another single-use bag may improve one environmental outcome, but be offset by another environmental impact.. Listen Up America: You Need to Learn How to Recycle. 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? So is there anything you would suggest to policymakers as they tried to address the issue? 1- Out of all the bags that are currently available in the market, plastic bags are the most convenient for consumers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. WIRED 181k followers More information Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Have a listen. But theres also so much nuance to this issue, and its important to consider these consequences of bag bans as we come up with the best possible solutions. Will we use our cotton tote hundreds or thousands of times? [wrong buzz, rewind] Cracker? But are bans on plastic bags or reusable alternatives like tote or canvas bags viable solutions to the worlds plastic problem? Some bills, like in Massachusetts, try to reduce the use of paper bags as well as plastic, but still favor paper. How many plastic bags are replaced by one cotton tote bag? ETHAN: And youve written several papers on plastic bags, Ill start with your paper that won the Journal of Environmental Economics and Managements Best Paper Prize in 2020, which discussed some of the unintended consequences of plastic bag bans. Oil and natural gas are also made of carbon and hydrogen, so in addition to using them for energy, we process them into plastic. 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. Yes, this was a paper that was interested in how sometimes we dont always think about how people respond to policies, theyre sort of the obvious response. All donations doubled for a limited time. Then Oregon, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont passed laws against them. Facebook, Follow us on What Comes Next for Venezuelas Oil Industry? ETHAN: I think this paper that you did goes to a larger conversation about plastic because we do often zero in on specific products, will complain about straws or about bags or about bottles. 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. Americans consume more than 10 billion paper bags annually, which is equivalent to 14 million trees. How do we do that? What do they think this is, a Ritz quick scheme? People still need bags to bring home their groceries. When we got rid of the carry out bags, people had to start purchasing garbage bags. That way youre reducing the amount of material thats going into the product, but you still want it to be something that youll actually find convenient and reuse with you. Before I jump in, were trying out a little bit of a different format today. Heres why thats a big deal. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Phytoplankton: How Too Much of a Good Thing Causes Problems. Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. TAYLOR: Yes. People look at [paper] and say its degradable, therefore its much better for the environment, but its not in terms of climate change impact, says David Tyler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon who has examined the research on the environmental impact of bag use. LASZLO: Am I? [wrong buzz, rewind] Cracker? Well discuss the extent to which plastic bags are a problem, some of the shortcomings of the trendier solutions, and some other less commonly discussed ideas for how to most sustainably and effectively move forward. Like, get a life, man. The first time you say your dog ate it, its a funny story, but by the fifth time, youre definitely going to fail first grade. To help combat this waste, several American states have enacted bans on plastic grocery bags. I guess the name does make sense. Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed Plastic bags are not biodegradable and can do great harms to wildlife. The measure now under consideration in Massachusetts, for example, would mandate that single-use paper bags contain at least 40 percent recycled fiber. Thats the percentage the Massachusetts Sierra Club has advocated for at the state level and when lobbying for municipal bag rules. READ MORE. In some cases, people start buying more plastic trash bags now that they cant use their grocery bags to store trash. And as you mentioned, tote bags can be actually more harmful. If we do that, well see less polluted oceans, improved public health, and maybe, for the first time in history, Polly wont want a cracker. In all seriousness, theres drawbacks here too. Plastic Bags Take Up To 1,000 Years to Decompose. Often, the problem shifts. And an estimated 10 million tons of plastic are discarded in the ocean yearly. Grist is powered by WordPress VIP. Produce sellers in this busy agricultural hub 95 miles. Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? Thats primarily because more energy is required to produce and transport paper bags. Wow, that was a tough one. Those are the kinds of topics that I focus on in my research. ITS INSATIABLE! Others, like in New York City, treat all single-use bags equally. And behavioral economics really explores a lot of that. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. People still need bags to bring home their groceries. Thats the intended goal of the policy. ETHAN: Why does all that matter? This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Heres Dr. Taylor discussing some of her research on that front. So I am an environmental economist. The Bad Astronomer Takes You on a Tour of the Cosmos. 12:48 PM PDT March 16, 2023. A Canadian Gas Field Is Polluting First Nation Communities, How Climate Change, Poverty, and Social Stigma Affect Menstrual Hygiene. And thats actually increasing the carbon footprint. 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. Right now! You would think five cents to reuse a bag would have a state similar behavioral response is five cents to not use a bag to have to pay for than plastic bag. ETHAN: After we drill and frack and insert other PG13 sounding term here, we have to actually turn our fossil fuels into polyethylene. First off, this sort of tax does hit low income communities the hardest, since they spend a larger percentage of their monthly income on food. Choking the oceans with Plastics. 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. Advocates for plastic bag bans often neglect to ask what will replace plastic bags and what the environmental impact of that replacement will be. 2- From a retailer's perspective, the thin plastic bags are the most economical of all. Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. The New York State Plastic Bag Task Force, convened by Governor Andrew Cuomo in March 2017, found that a hybrid ban on plastic bags along with a fee on alternatives is more effective than a simple ban. Not only are there these human health concerns, but crackers and other petrochemical facilities are not located very fairly. It argues that while banning plastic bags may be good for the environment, it is not as simple as it seems. 12 Reasons for Banning Plastic Bags: Plastic Bags Are Made With Non-Renewable Energy Plastic Bags Use Up Lots Of Energy Plastic Bags End Up In The Ocean Beach Plastic Litter Is On The Rise Plastic Bags Kill Millions Of Animals Every Year Plastic Takes A Long Time To Disintegrate Plastic Is Harming The Ocean's Coral Plastic Bags Contain Toxins This is often called border shopping. There are also policy options that dont involve bans. 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. 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. 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. Theyre just not very effective. And honestly, a little sketchy that ethylene cant handle sunlight. Australia has had a plastic bag ban since 2018. Some bills, like in Massachusetts, try to reduce the use of paper bags as well as plastic, but still favor paper. But what if reusable bags arent good either? ETHAN: Like, come on, we dont need more toxic chemicals in one spot! It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. [booo] Yeah, that was even rough for my standards. I took a look at a 2017 Congressional Report which found the petrochemical industry was, at the time, pursuing 48 new plastics-related projects in the Houston area. Cause of environmental pollution 2. Again, Im not referring to carbon emissions, Im talking nitrous oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, smog, Sagittariuses, really bad stuff. Studies of bags environmental impacts over their life cycle have reached widely varying conclusions. I mean, throw some Dijon on there and youve got lunch! Thats right, its always the one you most suspect. So the unintended consequences. 500 billion plastic grocery bags are used worldwide. Every so often, our star fires off a plasma bomb in a random direction. 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. What if instead of making the plastic from fossil fuels, we made it out of plants? And the most common substitute, paper bags, may be just as bad or worse, depending on the environmental problem youre most concerned about. And these different dimensions? Twitter, Follow us on Not So Fast' by Ben Adler & 'Choking the oceans with plastic' by Charles J. Moore. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. 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. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Whos building these things, Triscuit? Its been more than five years since single-use plastic bags like these were banned from grocery stores, a ban advocates say made strides for the environment. Again, because this is what I tell people all the time. And cotton, unlike paper, is not currently recycled in most places. What I found was a net benefit, we were still reducing more plastic than this rebound effect. Are Plastic Bag Bans a Solution? 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. Donate today to keep our climate news free. But in terms of plastic, you are correct. If they dont get reused a certain amount of time. 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. Even then, the question remains as to whether single-use bags are necessarily always worse than reusable ones. In the case of using a tax, the government is also then able to raise some money, which can be used to either lower taxes elsewhere or go toward environmental cleanup efforts or most importantly, turning Niagara Falls into a waterslide. The Permian Basin Hosts the Highest Emitting Oil and Gas Project in North America. As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. 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 . Eat one less meat dish a week thats what will have a real impact on the environment, says Tyler. Okay, maybe Im going overboard, but honestly, if it were a small ordeal to get a single-use bag, I could see the inconvenience of that motivating people to bring their reusable bags to the store a whole lot more than a five or ten cent tax. Do local governments get to say how these products are regulated? And thats definitely a behavioral effect that we find. 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. Thats primarily because more energy is required to produce and transport paper bags. All rights reserved. That said, it doesnt have to hit these communities hard if they have access to reusable bags. I asked Dr. Taylor how we can account for the cost of alternatives when we create policies to address plastic bags. But studies conducted in Australia or Europe have limited applicability in the U.S., particularly when youre considering climate impact, because every country has a different energy mix. In the last couple weeks, I believe around five of our team members got sick, so weve been struggling a little bit! Not So Fast. And so I was interested in understanding to what degree does a patchwork of policies actually lead customers to switch where theyre shopping. TAYLOR: Yeah, well, Ill circle back to the three Rs. With respect to the bonuses we talked about. In 2018 though, 68.1 percent of paper consumed in the United States was recovered for recycling, which is a really impressive number, although its worth noting that paper fibers become weaker each time theyre recycled, so there are still limitations to that. So if its, if it makes it into the environment, it stays there, it breaks into smaller pieces, it gets blown around the world, many different ecosystems. And thats just not true. 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. Spoiler alert: plastics parents got divorced at age eleven and it still isnt over it. There are many factors to consider when looking at the environmental impact of plastic bags, and also paper bags may not be as environmentally friendly as people think. So thats exactly what I did. ETHAN: That new ban was signed into law on September 30, and the fact that it was in the news goes to show that even with all the other things going on in the world, people are paying attention to this issue. The one perk with bans is that its by far the easiest policy to explain and enforce. Thats one idea that Ive seen floated all over the internet. And you even have some states, at least 17 in the US who have actually banned bag bans, banned regulating bags in general. ETHAN: The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. The shift from one single-use bag to another single-use bag may improve one environmental outcome, but be offset by another environmental impact.. Cotton tote bags dont fare well either. 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. "Exactly what happens to a plastic bag when it is littered depends very much on where it enters the environment and the mechanisms that cause it . Not So Fast Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Yeet that wheat. Ad Choices, Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? They increase their sales by almost 120%. But it turns out that charging people to use bags is not the same as paying them to bring reusable bags. 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. Or is it a little too nuanced to make that type of assessment? 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. If you want to take two minutes to help out The Sweaty Penguin, you can either leave us a five star rating and review or join our Patreon at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. Its like excuses for not doing your homework. India followed the UK with a . But for UPROSE, that concern is outweighed by the negative impacts of plastic bags on disadvantaged communities. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. Two weeks ago, 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. Different studies say different things, but the point is clear: even though paper bags are much better for the environment in the disposal stage, the rest of the supply chain is riddled with problems. And the most common substitute, paper bags, may be just as bad or worse, depending on the environmental problem youre most concerned about. In Staten Island, perhaps? And just like that, a step towards zero waste is taken, and it feels good. Solar and wind companies are coming to rural Texas. Follow us on Proposition 67, also known as SB270, officially passed in November 2016, prohibits plastic bags . In fact, we can take it a step further. Thicker, reusable bags are still available for purchase for 10 cents. So were still figuring it out right now, but weve got a great episode for you today. This material which is widely used worldwide has been an issue for years now and these readings gives some explanation on why. 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. New York's ban will take effect in 2020 but will apply to single-use plastic bags you can get at grocery stores or retailers. If they were going to use a slur for white people, why not name it Karen or Wonderbread? Take two minutes, help out the show, and get a shoutout at the end of the show by leaving a five star rating and a review on Apple or Podcast Addict OR join our Patreon at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. They are a lot easier to carry than many other shopping bags out there. Come on, why have we not tried this yet? Wait, sorry, wrong kind of cracker. 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. ETHAN: But first, its time for Plastic Bags 101. Plastic is a toxin that stays in the environment, marine animals ingest it, and it enters their bodies and then ours.. Both authors of these essays specifically speak about how the use of plastic can be harmful for the mother-nature, and have introduced ways to compensate this loss. Thats right, go get that bag. Last month, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. The larger takeaway is that no bag is free of environmental impact, whether thats contributing to climate change, ocean pollution, water scarcity, or pesticide use. Of those 48, 16 had publicly available air pollution data, so I took a look at that group. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. All of these policies give consumers a little more freedom, but try to nudge them in the right direction through small fees or rewards in the 5 to 15 cent per bag range. Rather than automatically using a bag, just ask the customer for their bags, or maybe even stop keeping bags at the register at all. Another entirely different approach could be making plastic bags more sustainable. [wind blowing, floors creaking, various night time sounds]. Seeing how nuanced this issue is, I asked Dr. Taylor what the next steps could look like. Lets start with paper: the only kind of bag that is, in the most literal tense, tearible. As far as I know, nobody has done the definitive analysis, which would necessarily need to have a large number of caveats and qualifications. ETHAN: Seven of those 16 projects were related to ethylene or polyethylene, including the five highest polluters of the group. Better alternatives are available 10. According to the Ocean Conservancys 2020 Coastal Cleanup Report, plastic grocery bags ranked number 6 for trash in the ocean.

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