Columnists, Uncategorized

Plastic Bag Phase-Out? 

By ARTHUR VIDRO

On Consumerism

While I was in college, plastic bags hit the supermarkets for the first time. Initially they replaced paper bags — at least, in the Albany, New York supermarket closest to where I was living. There was no choice. Plastic bags or no bags. 

Grocers had found a cheaper means for bagging and were pleased with it. 

But I hated it from the first day. 

Before the switchover, I would walk from my one-room rental home to the supermarket and have all my purchases put into one large paper bag. I would carry the bag in front of me for the mile-or-so walk back home, with both hands supporting the bag from underneath, and probably balancing it against my chest. 

That system worked well. 

Then came plastic bags. It became impossible to juggle all the ridiculous, tiny, weak, flimsy, easily torn plastic bags as I made the long walk homeward. (Cars were for richer students.) 

So, I applauded last month when California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning plastic bags from grocery store checkouts. 

The bill takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, at which point customers will not be given a choice between plastic and paper. They can either bring their own bags, receive paper bags, or go without bags at all. 

When it comes to environmental policy, California tends to lead. The rest of the nation, though sometimes much later, often follows. For instance, with mileage requirements on new vehicles. 

California already had a plastic bag ban, but it wasn’t working. It allowed for the use or sale of thicker plastic bags at the checkout stand. The thicker bags were designed to be reused and met certain recyclability standards. 

But those thicker bags, by and large, get neither reused nor recycled, and because of their extra thickness have even more plastic content. 

One might say the old ban did more environmental harm than good. 

Where does the plastic end up?  Often, underwater. 

This spring, a report based on 20 years of data collected from more than 14,000 beach cleanups calculated that an average of 86% of the litter collected each year on Great Lakes beaches is plastic. 

The plastic never fully disappears. Instead, it breaks down into ever smaller microplastics, which are a threat to the environment and human health. 

Sediments at the bottom of Narragansett Bay are full of plastic garbage. Lots of it. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island estimate the top two inches of the Bay floor contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics, totaling some 16 trillion fragments that have accumulated in the last decade or two. 

Remedies are needed. 

Let us hope California’s experiment works out well and most of the nation follows suit. 

The first ban on non-compostable plastic bags was put in place in San Francisco in 2007. The older California statewide law took effect in 2016. 

By 2023, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington all had some form of statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Colorado and Rhode Island were added to the list this year. About 500 cities and towns also have ordinances. 

On the other hand, about 20 states have banned plastic-bag bans, meaning they don’t want cities or other localities to have the option to implement a ban. 

Still, there are some encouraging signs. 

A year ago, Mass. Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order making it the first state to ban the purchase of single-use plastic bottles (under 21 fluid ounces) by state agencies. 

In July 2023, the Los Angeles International Airport prohibited the sale of single-use water bottles. Water bottles served onboard planes are exempt. Single-use plastic water bottles also are prohibited at nearby Van Nuys Airport. 

On Jan. 1, 2023, the seaside town of Narragansett, Rhode Island joined the list of communities to ban single-use plastic bags. 

A tightened-up plastic bag ban in Delaware bars all businesses other than restaurants from distributing plastic carryout bags. 

This summer all military commissaries in Washington state stopped issuing single-use plastic bags. 

The supermarket chain Whole Foods was the first large nationwide retailer to ban single-use checkout bags (as well as plastic straws). 

In grocery stores in the U.S., plastic bags began appearing in 1979. 

We did fine without them. We don’t need them at all. 

Plastic doesn’t break down in the environment; paper does. 

Usually, I bring cloth bags to the store.  If I forget my cloth bags, I ask for paper. 

When most people start bringing their own bags, then we’ll dent this problem. 

It certainly won’t solve itself.