Plastic bag ban

Thin plastic bags are commonly available at retail stores. Many stores make them available for free. These bags have a number of problems though: In many cases, they are only used once. Like other plastic, they take a long time to decay. In the 21st century, there have been ideas to replace these bags with other bags, or to make a tax apply to these bags.^[1][2] This is known as plastic bag ban, or plastic bag charge. These bags are commonly made of low-density polyethylene.^[3] For a long time, they were considered an easy way for transporting goods, both cheap, and hygienic. The problems that are associated with these bags are that non-renewable resources (such as crude oil, gas, and coal) are used to produce them.^[4] Disposing them is also problematic, very often they are simply thrown away. Shops have started introducing reusable shopping bags.

Different governments have banned the sale of these bags, or they put a tax on their sale.^[2][5] Bangladesh was the first country to do this, in 2002; it banned these bags completely.^[6] Between 2010 and 2019, the number of public policies intended to phase out plastic carryout bags tripled.^[7] As of 2022, bans have been introduced in 99 countries and 32 countries have introduced a charge per bag.

Issues

Plastic waste on the mounds of garbage in the Philippines

Plastic bags cause many ecological and environmental problems. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and pollute major water sources, rivers, and streams.

Photodegraded plastic bag next to a hiking trail. Approx. 2,000 pieces 1 to 25 mm (1/32" to 1"), three months' exposure outdoors.

Even when they are disposed properly, they take many years to decompose. This generates a lot of garbage. In many cases, they are simply thrown away. This will pollute waterways. Thin plastic bags are in the oceans, where they affect the ecosystem of marine creatures.^[3] Several microbial species colonize on plastic particles making them more harmful. Plastic particles driven by winds form garbage patches in the oceans.^[8] The UN estimates that there will be more plastics than fish in the oceans by 2050 unless countries come up with urgent measures to promote efficient production, use and waste management of plastics throughout their life cycles.^[9]

Plastic bags contribute to global warming. When they are exposed to the sun, they release two greenhouse gases, methane and ethylene. Because they are thin, they break down more easily than other forms of plastics. At the end of a 212-day trial, emissions have been recorded at 5.8 nmol g-1 d-1 of methane, 14.5 nmol g-1 d-1 of ethylene, 3.9 nmol g-1 d-1 of ethane and 9.7 nmol g-1 d-1 of propylene.

The bags cause direct harm to wildlife. Animals may be caught in the debris. As they cannot get away, they may either starve, or drown, when the debris is washed into the sea.^[10] Many animals cannot distinguish the small plastic pieces from food, and eat them.^[11] The debris then clog the animals' intestines, and may lead to the animal slowly starving. Plastic bags can block drains, trap birds and kill livestock. The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year^[12] as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags. It is very common across Africa to have sewers and drain systems clogged by bags which cause malaria due to the increased population of mosquitoes that live on the flooded sewers.^[13] The term "white pollution" has been coined in China to describe the local and global effects of discarded plastic bags upon the environment.^[14]

Lightweight plastic bags break down by polymer degradation. Any toxic additives they contain will be released into the environment. Many of those toxins directly affect the endocrine systems of organisms, which control almost every cell in the body.^[15] Research shows the average operating "lifespan" of a plastic bag to be approximately 20 years.^[16]

Plastic bags dumped in the Pacific Ocean can end up in the Great Pacific garbage patch. 80% of the plastic waste comes from land; the rest comes from oil platforms and ships.^[17] This can be eaten by marine animals, and block their breathing passages and digestive systems. Plastic bags not only add to the Great Pacific garbage patch, they can be washed ashore around the world.^[18]

Methods

The two most popular methods of phasing out lightweight plastic bags are charges and bans.^[7] The charge strategy has the same results as a plastic bag ban; it also has benefit of creating a new revenue source.^[19] The plastic bag charge method also protects consumer choice, which the ban does not.^[19]

Plastic bags can also be recycled. The problem with recycling is that as of 2023, only 5% of plastic bags make it to recycling facilities.^[19] Even when bags are brought to recycling facilities, they often fly out of the bins or recycling trucks and end up as litter on the streets.^[20] Different bags are made from different yet similar types of plastics.^[19] Recycling facilities can often only recycle one kind of bag. Recycling different types will make recycling more expensive.

Criticism

Plastic bag bans have also been criticised. Such bans can lead to larger black markets in plastic bags.^[7] Studies show that plastic bag bans can shift people away from using thin plastic bags, but it can also increase the use of unregulated single use paper bags or unregulated thicker plastic bags in areas where these are provided for free.^[21] The bans can also lead to more trash bags being sold, because people can no longer reuse their old grocery bags for things like lining small trash cans.^{[22][23][24][25]}.^[7][26][25]

Sometimes, the production of non-plastic bags can emit more greenhouse gases, than plastic bags. Some alternatives to plastic bags would need to be reused over a hundred times to make them more environmentally friendly than plastic bags.^[23][27] They are also viewed as less sanitary than plastic because they can bring germs from outside the store to high contact volume surfaces like carts and check out stands.^[27]