We Don’t Need a Plastic Bag Ban

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Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this whole
“Ban the Plastic Bag” movement is a bit pretentious and drastic. Banning plastic bags or
taxing them at supermarkets and drugstores where they used to be free, seems
like an extreme jump, although most likely in the right direction. We do need
to use less plastic, but banning plastic retail bags
altogether will do more harm than good. First of all, plastic bags are mostly
made in America.
Stopping the production of plastic bags in the United States would result in the
loss of over 4,000 jobs! Sure, there are alternatives. The reusable cloth bags,
which cost anywhere from 99 cents to 7 dollars and are made in China, or paper
bags, which are even worse than plastic when it comes to the cost and
energy use it takes to manufacture, transport, and eventually dispose of them.
I vote for an even smarter way to reduce the use of plastic, without charging
citizens or inconveniencing their day to day activities.

 

Companies like Tesco, one of Britain’s largest retailers, are
using other methods to discourage plastic bag use without complying with
government and green campaigners’ demands. In light of higher food and gas
costs, consumers don’t need to face another fee simply for buying the week’s
groceries. Shoppers still have the choice of receiving free disposable plastic
shopping bags for carrying purchased items. However, by offering customers
loyalty card points for bringing in their own bags, they have managed to reduce
the number of bags handed out by around 23 percent since September. Other
stores in the U.S.
are using similar tactics; less threatening, more rewarding. For instance, the
Berkley Bowl in Berkley, California which offers a 5 cent credit for
each reusable bag customers bring in to use, still maintains the customer’s
right to a free paper or plastic bag. On the same note, Starbucks offers
discounts on coffee if customers bring in their clean, used plastic cups or
reusable cups and mugs. Furthermore, various curbside recycling programs all
over the U.S.
offer incentives for bringing in plastics to recycle, from coupons to monetary
rewards. I think this is the smarter and easier way to handle the “evil plastic
bag” problem. Promote reuse and recycling of plastic bags, rather than forcing
customers to comply.

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Date: 30 August 2008, Saturday
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