Tuesday, June 09, 2009

UN promotes plastic bag ban

Amid concerns over terrorism, global warming, and faltering economies, the United Nations has proclaimed a surprising new public enemy: the plastic bag. “There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere” declares UN Environmental Programme executive director Achim Steiner.

As UNEP’s Marine Litter: A Global Challenge reports, plastic garbage in ocean waters presents a hazard to marine life and as well as coastal communities. As plastic breaks down, it chokes organisms at all levels of the food chain. Meanwhile, it hampers human livelihoods such as fishing, shipping, and tourism. After all, who wants to vacation on a beach congested with garbage?

A global bag ban may be a godsend for coast-dwelling humans and animals alike. Pilot fee-per-bag programs in countries as disparate as China and Ireland have already reduced bag consumption by as much 90%. A total ban could accomplish even more. San Francisco is the first city in the US to institute a successful bag ban, although measures are in progress in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Bag advocates, such as Keith Christman of the American Chemistry Council, argue that replacing plastic bags with paper bags would actually double greenhouse gas emissions, causing even more environmental damage.

But paper bags are not the only alternative. Simply reducing the number of plastic bags per customer is a start. Any grocery shopper who’s ever bought a gallon of milk or a bottle of laundry detergent has probably seen it whisked away into a double layer of plastic bags – despite the built-in handle! “They put this laundry soap in a bag,” remarked Food Lion shopper Vicki Watts, “and the shampoo in another one. I guess they think I need [all the bags]. But I could just carry it.”

Some small businesses, such as Deep Roots Market, a natural foods cooperative in Greensboro, N.C., have taken the initiative to eliminate plastic bags on their own. Deep Roots, whose mission is “to work toward a sustainable future,” has taken what they call the “exciting and groundbreaking” step of banishing plastic bags from their checkout counters. Instead, they encourage customers to bring their own reusable tote bags, or to carry groceries home in extra cardboard boxes left over from shipments. As a last resort, a paper bag can be purchased for two cents.

As the UN publicizes the new war on plastic, environmentalists hope to see the current national rate of 90 billion bags per year decrease. Meanwhile, plastic bag manufacturers hope to increase the recycled content of their product to 40% within six years, which would save 300 million pounds of plastic per year.

by Sadie Kneidel

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post! :) The answer definitely isn't to just switch to paper bags--people should just bring their own grocery tote(s) and pack wisely! I've found that grocery store baggers tend to pack on the light side, and frequently double bag. Hooray for the UN!

Anonymous said...

every little bit makes a difference. I always carry around a big bag/purse wherever I go so i almost never have to ask for a bag unless it's a huge, bulky item.

and of course i bring a bunch of reusable bags to the grocery store/farmers market

although i'm still a little surprised to hear that the UN is getting involved in this

Mrs Green said...

Fab post and it really lifts my spirits to hear of people being behind this ban. I've been on about it for ages and we've not taken a single disposable carrier bag now for over a year. Even if it means struggling with things in our arms because we've forgotten our bag.

If it might help your readers, I wrote an article about practical ways to reduce your reliance on plastic carrier bags; you can find it here:

http://myzerowaste.com/articles/general/plastic-carrier-bags/

Thanks for a great article and keep up the good work with spreading the word!

Mrs Green

dolly said...

I agree we need to use more durable bags which can be used again and again and in turn reduce the consumption of plastic bags or paper bags. I guess it is the high time people should understand why we should not use plastic bags and goverment should realize how harmful they are. It was shocking for me to learn these plastic bags kill more than 100,000 sea animals very years, thats really sad.

Dazy said...

That is a fantastic effort which India has taken initiative lately of. But the awareness should be spread more vigorously. And the people should also be rigid to say no for it.