One objection people often have to bag reduction ordinances is feeling they are paying for something that was “free.” Surrounded by plastic, many people think focusing on plastic bags is pointless. With these objections, they wonder why municipalities across the country are moving to bag reduction ordinances. Some customers pay for bags they receive at checkout.
Stores roll that cost into the prices of their products. Consumers also pay to produce bags. In 2019 Pennsylvania citizens paid $300 per capita in tax dollars to subsidize the fracking industry, a portion of which went to making plastic.
Worldwide, 460 million tons of plastic are produced per year. It increases waste management expenses and accounts for 11.18% of plastic pollution. Plastic bags are the most common “single use plastic” (SUP) item (14.1% of all items), polluting our oceans.
Also, SUP is susceptible to degradation from ultraviolet light, breaking into microplastic (1-5mm), and chemical pollution, which interferes with plankton growth. Human health harms from plastic bags and resulting microplastics include cancers, birth defects, and immune system suppression.
Endocrine disruptors and other chemicals adversely impact humans and wildlife. Plastic production also increases greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), worsening climate change, and increases the accumulation of 2400 toxic chemicals in ecosystems around the planet.
Reduction ordinances for SUP bags help create a cultural shift away from SUP as we move from consumption and disposability to more regenerative practices. Reusable bags would decrease ocean litter by 14%, GHG emissions, micro and nanoplastics, toxic chemicals, and their health harms.
Tamela Trussell, Carlisle, Pa.