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The Fight Over the Plastic Bag Ban
Through media, especially social media, it is evident that its “the new thing” to have a
metal straw, or to show another way that one’s carbon footprint is being reduced, or so it seems.
Lately, news and encouragement for people to start replacing single use items with reusable ones
has been all the rage. Reusable water bottles, metal straws, cloth makeup wipes, and canvas bags
are becoming more and more popular. The pressure to use canvas and other reusable bags
specifically has been seriously put on. Places are beginning to ban single use plastic bags in
order to help reduce pollution and humanity’s carbon footprint. Other people, however, do not
agree with these bans and predict they will do more harm than good.
At a glance, the idea to ban single use bags seems like a simple and efficient way to
support the environment’s health. Plastic bags litter our beaches, forests, fields, and water ways.
They are a “deadly burden” on animals such as fish, turtles and whales (Hite). Animals get stuck
and these bags and die, or they mistake them for food. Plastic bags are harmful not only to the
Earth and wildlife, but also to humans. In the article “The Truth about Plastic Bag Bans”,
according John Hite of the Conservation Law Foundation (CFL), the production of these plastics
unleash cancerous toxins into the air, especially near the manufacturing plants which are often
near low-income communities (Hite). Making these bags create pollution. When the bags are
burned, toxic fumes are released by waste incinerators (Hite). Cotton bags however, as Hite
describes, can be used over and over again. They can “be used a thousand times, and you can
even compost it once you’re done with it” (Hite). Their lives are incredibly longer compared to
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the brief one of the single use bag. According to groups such as the CFL, plastic bag bans are
effective because they show an increase in paper bag usage and reusable plastic bag usage. The
University of Sydney researched the plastic bag ban California. The study found that the bag ban
“reduced plastic bag consumption by 71.5%” (Hite). This article does address how these bans
won’t completely fix the plastic crisis, and states bans “do help to change plastic consumption
habits and cause consumers and retailers to be more open to alternatives” (Hite). Not permitting
consumers to use single use bags is a leap in the right direction to help save the environment.
Other people are not as optimistic about this movement. Other people are highlighting the
negatives that may arise with this movement. The article, “Why Should We Not Ban Plastic
Bags” by Crystal Schwanke, explains the cons of the banning of plastic bags. In a society where
