Plastic Bag Ban Facts

Here are some plastic bag ban facts. The full effect of the plastic bag ban has been set to take place sometime this year. The federal government seeks to put a ban on single-use plastic items, such as bags, cutlery, and straws to help eliminate plastic waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is a goal of achieving zero plastic waste by 2030. According to CBC News, Environment and Climate Change Canada will be formulating a draft of proposed regulations which will be published and allotted for public opinion.

Plastic retail and grocery bags are especially being targeted for bans and imposed additional taxes in many cities in Canada. Despite the unintended consequences of plastic bag usage, bans and taxes have been proven to have a negative impact on the working class, as well as seniors with a fixed income. Placing taxes and bans on plastic bags do not promote positive environmental changes and may even be the cause of larger issues. This is simply because banning and taxing recyclable products, such as reusable plastic bags, makes no sense even in a best-case scenario.

Despite the myth which touts plastic bags as harmful for the environment, plastic bags are some of the most environmentally friendly options available at the checkout counter. This is due to the recyclability of plastic bags, a process which is simple yet effective, due to the many recycling drop-off locations available across Canada.

Imposing taxes on plastic bags makes trips to the grocery store much more expensive, especially for low-income or fixed income working families. Plastic bag bans are also threatening thousands of jobs in the plastic manufacturing sector. Another important fact is that if reusable canvas and non woven bags are not rinsed frequently, harmful bacteria can take form. Canvas bags are almost never reused, while nearly 90 percent of consumers reuse their plastic bags at least once.

Studies show that plastic bag alternatives place a greater burden on environmental resources than their plastic counterparts. This is due to requiring more natural resources to produce and transport plastic bag alternatives, which also emit more carbon throughout their lifespan. These bags also require more energy to recycle—if they can be recycled at all. A study from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that bag bans and taxes have not had the ability to reduce litter or waste in a meaningful way in the places that have imposed them.

Plastic Bag Ban Facts and their Implications

At Danshar Polybag and Resin Inc., we believe in finding alternatives rather than completely banning plastic. Plastic bag ban facts implicate that overturning of the plastic bag ban in Toronto depends on finding a viable alternative. We are of the opinion that the convenience and cost-efficiency of plastic bags cannot be replaced.

Banning plastic bags is like banning computers. As technology progresses and life continues to offer new information for increased advancement, there is no going back. Just as the Internet often brings about negative influences, its positive uses cannot be substituted by any other known method.

The goal now is to find ways to recycle plastic bags because recycled materials are often used in plastic manufacturing plants. Drawing up plans to find simpler ways to recycle material would be the first goal. A second step would be to find a solution that easily disintegrates plastic bags found in landfills.

In the United States, you will often find bins for plastic bags in supermarkets. If we could have a by-law that encourages returning one-time use plastic bags to these bins in the supermarket, we would solve most of the problem of excess plastic in our landfills.

We have begun to recycle plastic bags in Toronto:

“Retailers are still required to provide carry-out bags that are compatible with the City's recycling program, which means no biodegradable, compostable plastic bags or bags with metal grommets, string, cored, cloth or non-plastic material can be provided.” [1]

Further, we know that biodegradable bags may be more damaging to the environment than regular bags. Read more about this at the Guardian by copying and pasting the following link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/jun/18/greenwash-biodegradeable-plastic-bags

Additionally, plastic bags use 70 percent less energy and consume 96 percent less water than paper bags throughout the manufacturing process. Paper bags take up 9.3 percent more space in the landfills than plastic bags. Canvas and non woven bags must be reused at least 131 times to ensure their impact on the environment is less than a plastic bag that is reused once.

Therefore, the answer is simple. Like recycled paper, we must continue to encourage people to recycle their plastic. This is the only advantageous way we can uphold our goal in cleaning up our environment. Once we have several programs in place along with advertisements to encourage the public to recycle plastic, we can continue to enjoy the advancements the plastic industry has provided—and we can keep our computers too! We can make plastic bag ban facts a thing of the past.

[1] "No More Plastic Bag Fee as of July 1." No More Plastic Bag Fee as of July 1. N.p., 29 June 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/it/newsrel.nsf/7017df2f20edbe28852566190-04e428e/05612aecf140d5f185257a2c005e67a4?OpenDocument>.

Plastic Bag History and FAQs