Its taken long enough. READ MORE. Produce sellers in this busy agricultural hub 95 miles. [knock on door, door creaks open, then Laszlo starts coughing uncontrollably]. In fact, eight states have gone so far as to ban single-use plastic bags, and over 200 counties and municipalities have enacted ordinances either imposing a fee on plastic bags or banning them. In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Im really proud of this one and I hope you enjoy it! Thats right, go get that bag. Now a hybrid ban, where you ban a particular thin plastic or film plastic, as long as theres also consideration for the other types of bags such as paper bags, and reusable bags, and requiring stores to charge for those other bags. In fact, eight states have gone so far as to ban single-use plastic bags, and over 200 counties and municipalities have enacted ordinances either imposing a fee on plastic bags or. For example, because paper bags take up so much more space, more trucks are needed to ship paper bags to a store than to ship plastic bags. 1- Out of all the bags that are currently available in the market, plastic bags are the most convenient for consumers. The New York State Plastic Bag Task Force, convened by Governor Andrew Cuomo in March 2017, found that a hybrid ban on plastic bags along with a fee on alternatives is more effective than a simple ban. Special thanks to our Emperor Penguin patrons Lawrence Harris and Brownies Central. The Bad Astronomer Takes You on a Tour of the Cosmos. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Waste in particular, plastic packaging, how it is used, how it gets discarded. What Comes Next for Venezuelas Oil Industry? As the Australian study noted, a cotton bag has major environmental impacts of its own. Whos building these things, Triscuit? Were finding that hybrid bands can be as you know, as successful as the taxes, just standalone taxes. The first time you say your dog ate it, its a funny story, but by the fifth time, youre definitely going to fail first grade. Instagram, Follow us on Follow us on But are bans on plastic bags or reusable alternatives like tote or canvas bags viable solutions to the worlds plastic problem? LASZLO: Am I? All of these policies give consumers a little more freedom, but try to nudge them in the right direction through small fees or rewards in the 5 to 15 cent per bag range. A single mom, or someone working two jobs, is more likely to have to do her shopping in a rush on the way home from work than to go out specifically with a tote bag in hand. WIRED 181k followers More information Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Because with any product, its important to think about all those three dimensions, can we as consumers reduce the amount that were using? Plastic, on the other hand, lasts for a long time. Wow, that was a tough one. It argues that while banning plastic bags may be good for the environment, it is not as simple as it seems. Even studies conducted with the purest of intentions depend on any number of assumptions. Studies of bags environmental impacts over their life cycle have reached widely varying conclusions. Scientists believe lasting symptoms following a coronavirus infection is not a single disorder. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but its the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. That way youre reducing the amount of material thats going into the product, but you still want it to be something that youll actually find convenient and reuse with you. If they dont get reused a certain amount of time. Paper does have its own environmental consequences in terms of how much energy it takes to generate, acknowledges Emily Norton, director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Then, that ethylene can be sent to a new plant where theyll add a catalyst which initiates a chemical reaction and forms our high-density polyethylene. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. Facebook, Follow us on ETHAN: When something causes as many issues as plastic bags, it may seem tempting to ban it. Plastic bags should be banned as it pollutes the water and land. The remaining 21 percent, of course, came from the Kardashians. Often, the problem shifts. There was a 72 percent drop in grocery bag litter in the state just one year after it was fully implemented. Single-use plastics seem to be disappearing. Now thats just one set of data, but I hope my point is clear: the production of our plastic bags causes harmful air pollution, and that pollution disproportionately hits low income and minority communities. There are many factors to consider when looking at the environmental impact of plastic bags, and also paper bags may not be as environmentally friendly as people think. CLIP: Its been more than five years since single-use plastic bags like these were banned from grocery stores, a ban advocates say made strides for the environment. Scientists are working on that, and according to a 2021 thesis study from LUT University in Finland, if that process were powered by clean energy, plastic bags made from carbon dioxide could actually be carbon negative. 12:48 PM PDT March 16, 2023. If youre singularly focused on eliminating plastic bags, theres a level of convenience from a policymaker standpoint thats tempting. Are Plastic Bag Bans a Solution? Not only are there these human health concerns, but crackers and other petrochemical facilities are not located very fairly. Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed by many retail businesses and require a charge of 10 cents or more for a recycled paper or reusable bag. One of the biggest battery recycling plants in theUSis up and running. Its like time outs. Anyway, at a cracker plant, they use extreme heat to crack the molecular bonds in the oil or gas to produce a new gas called ethylene. A pound of cotton requires more than 5,000 gallons of water on average, a thirst far greater than that of any vegetable and even most meats. Yeet that wheat. All three counties are majority minority, the first two are over a third low income, and according to data from Texas Rising, if you rank all 254 counties in Texas for the overall environmental and social burdens they face, these three counties come in at #3, #8, and #53. In that case, it was the simple act of instead of automatically giving customers a straw with their drink, bringing the drink without a straw. Last month, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. That said, it doesnt have to hit these communities hard if they have access to reusable bags. I also looked at paper bags as well. ETHAN: The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. I mean, I know it loves to hang at the cracker plants and all but wouldnt it have more fun hanging out with other creatures of the night? Saying go to your room doesnt actually solve anything, but hey, its easier than having an intelligent conversation with a six-year-old. And an estimated 10 million tons of plastic are discarded in the ocean yearly. Thats right, I said it. In accordance with the budge bill passed last year, New York State retailers will be banned from doling out single-use plastic bags, starting on March 1. There was a 72 percent drop in grocery bag litter in the state just one year after it was fully implemented. And so whats really interesting is just adding a small price to each, each bag, you know, five cents, we see really large behavioral changes just with that small price. TAYLOR: Yes. How do we make polyethylene? But sales of garbage bags increased substantially and especially those small garbage bags that you know, are around the same size as the carryout back. Like blueberries or trips to the bathroom, not all plastics are created equal, and single-use plastic bags are typically made from a material called high-density polyethylene. And the most common substitute, paper bags, may be just as bad or worse, depending on the environmental problem youre most concerned about. But that carbon footprint could also very easily be lower, which is why I bring it up. Killing wildlife 5. And in pretty much any case, people shift to an alternative type of grocery bag, and while plastic is unique in that it does not decompose, other types of bags have issues of their own. Shortly after, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed by many retail businesses and require acharge of 10 cents or more for a recycled paper or reusable bag. As far as I know, nobody has done the definitive analysis, which would necessarily need to have a large number of caveats and qualifications. And I think thats the topic I dont know enough about. Phytoplankton: How Too Much of a Good Thing Causes Problems. Bag bans cut this litter off at the source: In San Jose, Calif., a plastic bag ban led to an 89 percent reduction in the number of plastic bags winding up in the citys storm drains. I know it sounds silly, but it would make a difference. ETHAN: Like, come on, we dont need more toxic chemicals in one spot! Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. A tweak could let quantum possibilities increase as space expands. TAYLOR: Its a great question, I would say its a bit nuanced, because that was just respect with respect to the plastic bags. Paper bags do have some pros over plastic theyre biodegradable, recyclable, compostable, reusable, all the fun -ables. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. ETHAN: Clips today came from 23 ABC News. Its like when your boss bans YouTube at work, so everyone jumps to Discord. Plastic bags not only destroy the physical infrastructure, she says, referring to the way they clog up storm drains and other systems, they contribute to emissions. And she points out that marine plastic pollution is a threat to low-income people who fish for their dinner: So many frontline communities depend on food coming from the ocean. Thats why her group supported New York Citys bag fee even though its more of a burden on lower-income citizens. In fact, the only place they havent been is Dave and Busters. The reasons for papers higher carbon footprint are complex, but can mostly be understood as stemming from the fact that paper bags are much thicker than plastic bags. TAYLOR: When I put my economist hat, the sort of first tool that I really think that policymakers should consider is a small fee, or a tax on all the different types of carry out bags. Its like trying to send paper through a really old copier. We use. [wrong buzzer, rewind] Cracker? Its the type of giving that allows us to plan for future projects and provides us with the consistent funding we need to continue bringing you the climate news that you rely on. Salt Marshes Are Essential Climate Solutions. Back to those three Rs we learned when we were in elementary school, the reduce the Reuse and Recycle. Instagram, Follow us on ETHAN: And youve written several papers on plastic bags, Ill start with your paper that won the Journal of Environmental Economics and Managements Best Paper Prize in 2020, which discussed some of the unintended consequences of plastic bag bans. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group. bags, or maybe even stop keeping bags at the register at all. After the break, well discuss where bag bans have shown shortcomings, the pros and cons of other types of grocery bags, and some other solution ideas that havent gained the same level of popularity as Dijon-crusted plastic. Because we do see such a strong response of having to pay for your bag, when you have to pay for your bag, it makes it an active decision, instead of just default, getting a whole bunch of bags that you dont really think about, we find that bag taxes are actually as effective as bag bans, and getting people to change their behavior, potentially without some of the unintended consequences of completely eliminating an option making people switch to other bags, which might actually be more harmful for the environment. Now, there are a few challenges to implementing a monetary policy like this. But that tiny switch makes it so people dont feel different or left out if they dont have a straw. All donations doubled for a limited time. In the last couple weeks, I believe around five of our team members got sick, so weve been struggling a little bit! ETHAN: So just to wrap up this point, would you say that its a net positive or negative? TAYLOR: Yeah, I would love to see the conversation, sort of move more.

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