Instead of bans on plastics, we should improve all waste management strategies from coast to coast.
Thirteen states across the country have enacted bans on “single-use” plastic bags, with upwards of 500 cities doing the same. More could be on the way.
Environmental groups claim that these bags are difficult to recycle, contaminate oceans and therefore our food source, and can take 1,000 years to biodegrade. According to the Sierra Club, we could be ingesting up to a credit card’s worth of plastic every week.
States and municipalities began passing bills in order to cut down on plastic waste, with the idea that forcing consumers to alter their shopping habits would somehow save the planet. Plenty of organizations tout these bans as a success. But data suggests otherwise.
Market-research organization Freedonia Group recently reported that New Jersey’s plastic consumption has tripled since their ban went into effect in 2022. The non-woven polypropylene bag customers purchased as an alternative not only use 15 times more plastic but is a material not widely recycled in the United States.
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Kristen Walker is a policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.theamericanconsumer.org or follow us on Twitter @ConsumerPal