Plastic Bag Ban

Cutting our nation’s wasteful spending has taken a backseat to cutting environmental waste.

“Issues such as the economy have become peripheral,” said Stony Brook Political Psychologist Jacob Sohlberg. “What people think about environmental issues is strongly affected by party leaders. When one party leader decides the issue is important then supporters of that party will follow their leader.”

In order to preserve the environment and countless animals around the world, a global movement to ban the use of plastic bags is underway. San Francisco has become the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags, and a statewide plastic-ban bill has been introduced in Oregon. Washington D.C. has enacted a “bag tax,” and both Indiana and Maryland have proposed bag-taxes of their own.

“Many see this issue as a threat to free-market and de-regulation,” said Sohlberg.

Despite the fact that the science on the dangers posed by plastic bags is far from settled, grocery and retail stores all over the country no longer offer plastic bags to their customers.

“It’s ridiculous that the government even has to step in,” said Lake Grove, N.Y Whole Foods manager Lorraine Barker. “People should take personal ownership and do the right thing.”

Whole Foods and Ikea were among the first stores to phase out plastic bags.

“We sell reusable shopping bags for 79 cents each,” said Ikea employee Rob Bashwiner. “All proceeds go to American Forests organization.”

While many shoppers believe they are doing their part to save the planet by bringing their own bags to the store, many shoppers remain skeptical.

“I feel as though retailers are being forced not to provide plastic bags,” said A&P shopper Robert Krauss. “The government tells everyone plastic bags are bad for the environment, and then stores tell us they’re bad for the environment, too. What about what I think?”

Environmentalists and some scientists claim the bags are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of creatures on land and at sea. They also claim that the bags are so slow to biodegrade, resulting in clogged landfills.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) begs to differ.

According to the ACC, plastic bags are 100 percent recyclable, take up less space in landfills and generate 80 percent less waste than paper bags.

“I don’t want to be charged for a plastic bag,” said one Stony Brook University student. “Or flat-out denied one in the name of an issue I don’t even believe exists.”

The problem with enacting plastic bag bans and taxes is apparent in Ireland. An OLR research report concluded that by banning plastic bags, the sale of non-grocery plastic bags has risen 400 percent. The study also found that Scotland and Australia would experience similar increases in non-grocery plastic bags if they chose to implement plastic bag taxes. Additionally, retailers would be expected to provide more paper bags, which cost significantly more to produce than plastic bags.

“I always keep reusable bags in my car,” said Ikea shopper Barbara Signorelli. “I mean, do you really need a plastic grocery bag for every garbage can in your house?”

Some grocery stores offer incentives such as 5-cent refunds for each reusable bag customers bring in.

“These incentives are what allow the market to choose,” said Stony Brook Ecosystems and Human Impact Director, Dr. James. Hoffmann. “They encourage people not to simply shift to other types of plastic bags.”