Others, like in New York City, treat all single-use bags equally. All donations doubled for a limited time. Cracker? In 2018 though, 68.1 percent of paper consumed in the United States was recovered for recycling, which is a really impressive number, although its worth noting that paper fibers become weaker each time theyre recycled, so there are still limitations to that. In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. Even if bags arent the worst offender though, theyre a very hot topic and in my opinion, a really really interesting and misunderstood one, so Im very excited to talk about it today. Thats primarily because more energy is required to produce and transport paper bags. The Ike Dike is the Army Corps of Engineers largest project ever. Design and build by Upstatement. Problematic degradation 4. Not So Fast Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World Right Eastern Hemlocks Are Declining. [wrong buzz, rewind] Cracker? Were finding that hybrid bands can be as you know, as successful as the taxes, just standalone taxes. 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, it may not even be the most effective option. Others, like in New York City, treat all single-use bags equally. 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. Theres the impact of material, if it makes it into the environment as litter, theres the impact of the production of it on emissions and climate. And so my recommendation is to use as few bags as you can reuse the ones that you do purchase and purchase your bags, make it an active decision. 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. Climate change, they say, isnt the only form of environmental degradation to worry about. And an estimated 10 million tons of plastic are discarded in the ocean yearly. ETHAN: After we drill and frack and insert other PG13 sounding term here, we have to actually turn our fossil fuels into polyethylene. (Cindy) Works Cited. And the most common substitute, paper bags, may be just as bad or worse, depending on the environmental problem youre most concerned about. This is often called border shopping. TAYLOR: Yeah, I would love to see the conversation, sort of move more. So is there anything you would suggest to policymakers as they tried to address the issue? Major funding forPeril and Promiseis provided byDr. P. Roy Vagelos and Diana T. Vageloswith additional funding from Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III,and the Estate of Worthington Mayo-Smith. ETHAN: And that wraps up episode 106 of The Sweaty Penguin. So I was really interested to see what the data would say about this were people having to buy more garbage bags now that the plastic bags that they got from grocery stores were no longer available. TAYLOR: Yeah, I think one thing that stands out, when we think about plastic bags, and when we think about sort of packaging, in general, is that theres this perception that its free, that theres no price, and that you can you know, youre not paying for the plastic bags that you use, thats not actually true, you actually do pay for the plastic bags that you use at the supermarket. ETHAN: But first, its time for Plastic Bags 101. Donate today to keep our climate news free. That signals to customers that these arent reusable products. Produce sellers in this busy agricultural hub 95 miles. Capacitors. 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. So if you have a policy in your own city, but the next city over doesnt, and you decide to shop in then next city over to avoid the policy. Recently, many politicians were in such a hurry to ban plastic bags. The measure now under consideration in Massachusetts, for example, would mandate that single-use paper bags contain at least 40 percent recycled fiber. Dr. Taylor, could you tell us a bit about your background and research interests? I also got retail data from the store on what people were purchasing, in particular, what kinds of garbage bags they were purchasing. Featuring special guest Dr. Rebecca Taylor, Senior Lecturer of Economics at the University of Sydney. A lot of the waste ends up in our communities, says Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE, an environmental and social justice-oriented community organization in Brooklyn. "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Why Banning Plastic Grocery Bags Could Be A Bad Move : NPR What if instead of making the plastic from fossil fuels, we made it out of plants? Animals can become entangled in the bags and drown or mistake the bags for food which can clog their intestines and cause them to starve. Last month, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. I hardly know her! Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. Thats where this gets interesting. Reader support helps sustain our work. 12:48 PM PDT March 16, 2023. Harmful to human health 6. You start growing weird pimples at 10, youre crying five times a week at 15, and by 20, someone has to carry you into a therapists office, throw you on the couch, and say its broken, fix it. For plastic though, 20 years is much less time than most other single-use plastic products. And behavioral economics really explores a lot of that. Listen Up America: You Need to Learn How to Recycle. Natasha Mascarenhas. TAYLOR: Yes, how much people actually reuse the various types of reusable bags has a big impact on their environmental impact. TAYLOR: Yes. Theyre just not very effective. Then Oregon, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont passed laws against them. ETHAN: Beyond climate though, crackers cause a lot of issues for surrounding communities. And honestly, a little sketchy that ethylene cant handle sunlight. This episode of The Sweaty Penguin explores a wide range of issues including plastic bag manufacturing and looks at the shortcomings of some proposed solutions. Saying go to your room doesnt actually solve anything, but hey, its easier than having an intelligent conversation with a six-year-old. In May 2016, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. Again, Im not referring to carbon emissions, Im talking nitrous oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, smog, Sagittariuses, really bad stuff. I mean, look at all the kids roaming the streets looking for water after eating a single Saltine. Its taken long enough. 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. Not So Fast" by Ben Adler focuses on the states attempting to end giving out plastic bags for free hoping to reduce plastic waste. All that said, paper is made from trees, meaning paper bags contribute to deforestation. People look at [paper] and say its degradable, therefore its much better for the environment, but its not in terms of climate change impact, says David Tyler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon who has examined the research on the environmental impact of bag use. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Again, Im not referring to carbon emissions, Im talking nitrous oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, smog, Sagittariuses, really bad stuff. In the case of using a tax, the government is also then able to raise some money, which can be used to either lower taxes elsewhere or go toward environmental cleanup efforts or most importantly, turning Niagara Falls into a waterslide. Wait, sorry, wrong kind of cracker. And sort of the bottom line, what I found with in terms of like the amount of plastic, was about a third of the plastic that was eliminated by the carry out bag ban came back in the form of garbage bags, which do tend to be a bit thicker than the carry out bags. Anything thats not zero gets, you know a pretty big impact. Lets start with paper: the only kind of bag that is, in the most literal tense, tearible. The Australian study concluded that the best option appears to be a reusable bag, but one made from recycled plastic. Aw, dammit, I was so close! Cotton is a crop that requires massive amounts of water and energy to produce. 4 Absent the fee, which provides the economic incentive to bring reusable bags to the store, simple bans tend to shift consumers from one type . Grist is the only award-winning newsroom focused on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For the World Right Questions 1-5.docx And what I found was the policies were very successful in reducing the amount of plastic carry out bags people used at supermarkets, it goes to zero as you would expect with a ban. People look at [paper] and say its degradable, therefore its much better for the environment, but its not in terms of climate change impact, says David Tyler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon who has examined the research on the environmental impact of bag use. Now, Im not sure how far along plant plastic or CO2 plastic are in the development process, but certainly very exciting possibilities if they could scale up. Also, this question is something like asking, Would you prefer to get a parking ticket or a tax assessment? It depends on the specifics, but its better to avoid both wherever possible. Goldstein is confident that if people switch to reusable bags, even cotton ones, and use them consistently, that will ultimately be better for the environment. What if they used solar or wind? Obviously, a cotton tote does have a much longer life than a plastic or paper bag, but we also have to be honest with ourselves. And even if you use the word fee, sometimes people dont like that as well. Killing wildlife 5. You get merch, bonus content, and more. And so many of these supermarkets have actually rolled back their policies. So I am an environmental economist. And thats not purchasing garbage bags. Fees have a smaller, but still significant, effect. If a plastic bag is reused in the home as the garbage bag in a bathroom waste bin, does that reduce its footprint by eliminating the need for another small plastic garbage bag? The ideal city bag policy would probably involve charging for paper and plastic single-use bags, as New York City has decided to do, while giving out reusable recycled-plastic bags to those who need them, especially to low-income communities and seniors. One of the most comprehensive research papers on the environmental impact of bags, published in 2007 by anAustralian state government agency, found that paper bags have a higher carbon footprint than plastic. Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. 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. But what I do know I find so fascinating. Hopefully its not laced with xylene! 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. So what was this paper about and what were your findings? But it turns out that charging people to use bags is not the same as paying them to bring reusable bags. To help combat this waste, several American states have enacted bans on plastic grocery bags. The big difference is that paper does biodegrade eventually. The Permian Basin Hosts the Highest Emitting Oil and Gas Project in North America. ETHAN: Like, come on, we dont need more toxic chemicals in one spot! ETHAN: That new ban was signed into law on September 30, and the fact that it was in the news goes to show that even with all the other things going on in the world, people are paying attention to this issue. And I think thats the topic I dont know enough about. 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. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. . In a queer vacation hot spot on Cape Cod, an ad hoc community proved that Americans can stifle large outbreaksif they want to. 2- From a retailer's perspective, the thin plastic bags are the most economical of all. I know it sounds silly, but it would make a difference. And so when we think about these policies, were balancing these different environmental objectives. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast If someone wants a straw, they can ask and get it, no questions asked. Polyethylene, however, is recyclable. On the other hand, were using thicker bags, which might be emitting more carbon and pollution into the atmosphere. ETHAN: Plastic bag bans also can negatively affect businesses. 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. 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. The Massachusetts proposal may not become law this year, but it's the latest sign that the plastic bag industry is losing this war. As plastic bag bans go into effect, some question the unintended A substantial shift to more durable bags would deliver environmental gains through reductions in greenhouse gases, energy and water use, resource depletion and litter, the study concluded. Washington, DCs government estimates that its 5-cent bag tax has led to a 60 percent reduction in the number of these bags being used, although that figure is contested by other sources. Those are the kinds of topics that I focus on in my research. Cracker plants release air pollutants such as benzene which is linked to cancer and childhood leukemia, toluene which is linked to birth defects and brain, liver, and kidney problems, formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen, and particulate matter which is linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and lung and bladder cancer. But on the other hand, paper has a much higher carbon footprint than plastic, its much more water intensive, its much more energy intensive to produce. Its like excuses for not doing your homework. In Staten Island, perhaps? In all seriousness, theres drawbacks here too. Businesses may be reluctant to engage in default choice modification because customers might not realize the law and think theyre just getting bad service. Its what we put in the bag at the grocery store that really matters.. How do we do that? by John Stossel | May 5, 2020. First, we transport our fossil fuels to a type of petrochemical plant called a cracker. Cracker? And when I no longer had access to those carry out bags, it meant I didnt have this quote unquote, free source of garbage bags anymore. Testimony on the Proposed Paper Carryout Bag Fee | CBCNY Seeing how nuanced this issue is, I asked Dr. Taylor what the next steps could look like. There are other options though. As far as I know, nobody has done the definitive analysis, which would necessarily need to have a large number of caveats and qualifications. Doing either earns you a special shoutout at the end of the show; joining the Patreon gets you merch, bonus content, and a whole lot more. In all seriousness, theres drawbacks here too. Rather than automatically using a bag, just ask the customer for their bags, or maybe even stop keeping bags at the register at all. As longtime plastic bag adversary Ian Frazier recently reported in The New Yorker, In 2014, plastic grocery bags were the seventh most common item collected during the Ocean Conservancys International Coastal Cleanup, behind smaller debris such as cigarette butts, plastic straws, and bottle caps. The New York City Sanitation Department collects more than 1,700 tons of single-use carry-out bags every week, and has to spend $12.5 million a year to dispose of them. Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? So have at least 88 localities in California, including the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, plus cities and towns in more than a dozen other states and more than a dozen other countries. Not So Fast by Ben Adler The author of the piece Ben Adler agrees that plastic bags have an adverse impact on the environment. 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. Climate change, they say, isnt the only form of environmental degradation to worry about. In fact, every region of the U.S. has a different energy mix. And cotton, unlike paper, is not currently recycled in most places. Thats right, the solution to single use plastic isnt bans, its awkwardness! Waste in particular, plastic packaging, how it is used, how it gets discarded. [wrong buzz, rewind] Cracker? Cause of environmental pollution 2. On the disposal side, single-use plastic bags are currently not recyclable, but thats because the bags are so flimsy they can get caught in the machinery. Cracker? ETHAN: Does this mean bag bans are bad or bag alternatives are bad? But thats not to say plastic bag recycling couldnt be more widely implemented. In fact, every region of the US has a different energy mix. "Banning Plastic Bags Is Great For The World, Right? Both authors of these essays specifically speak about how the use of plastic can be harmful for the mother-nature, and have introduced ways to compensate this loss. ETHAN: Today we are talking about bags: a word that simultaneously means a container with an open top used for carrying things, a lot of money, and any goal youve ever had in your life. There are also policy options that dont involve bans. Whether its paper, whether its plastic, can we reuse it, you know, extend its life? And then if when those you know are no longer possible, can we recycle them?
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