The small and simple gesture of banning plastic bags can set off a chain of events that can greatly and positively change life in your community and beyond. Here are five ways banning plastic bags in your hometown can change life as you know it for the better.
Single use plastic bag bans make so much sense from an environmental perspective since they reduce use of fossil fuels, reduce the eyesore that is litter, and protect animals and their habitats from stray plastic bags and their pieces that can easily be mistaken for food or entangle an animal, ending its life. Large chains and small local retailers also spend a substantial amount of money of these disposable nuisances, so implementing a ban saves retailers money, and that cost savings should be reflected in their prices. Despite the best of intentions though, sometime
Towns can have very different reasons for wanting to implement a single-use plastic shopping bag ban, but the path most towns take to ban bags is strikingly similar. If you are thinking about banning single-use plastic bags in your hometown in favor of reusable shopping bags, here are three steps to start the process.
Beginning in December 2013 plastic shopping bags will no longer be allowed in Brookline, Massachusetts. About 73% of the town meeting members voted in favor of the ban that would prevent many stores from handing out disposable polyethylene bags. Plastic bags that are compostable and marine-degradable will still be allowed since they do not pose a risk to the environment and animals that call the area home. Read more about this town’s progress towards going reusable.
Factory Direct Promos is hosting a blog carnival to raise awareness about why it is important to use reusable bags. We are showcasing blog posts from a variety of amazing and talented writers who took the time to share and discuss with their readers and us the environmental necessity of taking action and putting an end to the use of disposable plastic bags. We are thrilled at the response and the turnout of really great and thought provoking posts we’ve received.
When Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, attempted to do away with a 5-cent fee that was levied on plastic shopping bags handed out at stores within the city that set off a surprising turn of events. The mayor’s proposal to end the fee and just as quickly proposed and passed an outright ban on plastic shopping bags clearing the way for reusable shopping bags. The bag ban was scheduled to begin on January 1, 2013, but once again the plan has changed.
Uganda has been waging a war against plastic shopping bags since 2002. In June 2007, the government banned importing, using, and distributing polythene bags less than 30 microns thick. Still, Parliament never passed a law implementing the ban, and plastic bag manufacturers found a loophole and continued producing and distributing plastic bags. The manufacturers thought they were being clever, but they were perpetuating the use of plastic bags and all of the harm these bags cause as opposed to reusable shopping bags.
Factory Direct Promos (FDP) recently launched an interactive map that lets you track the movement to ban disposable plastic bags all over the world. This in-depth map features color-coded pins that indicate whether a location has a ban on the books, where a ban failed to pass or if an area has a law mandating a fee be levied on bags at the checkout.
A familiar group is working to ban plastic bags in New York City. The environmental group Clean Seas Coalition has opened an office in Manhattan. Clean Seas is looking to pick up the pieces of the failed bag ban after a brief campaign by Mayor Bloomberg’s office fell short in 2009. Clean Seas Coalition was the driving force behind the disposable bag bans and fees set up in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Since Los Angeles implemented a disposable plastic bag ban and a 10-cent fee on paper bags just over a year ago the city has seen a 93 percent reduction in waste.
View our side-by-side list of the pros & cons of a plastic bag ban.
The San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority passed an ordinance back in January that banned disposable plastic bags in most retail outlets, specifically supermarkets, pharmacies, sporting goods retailers, and convenience stores with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. The fine print also calls for a 10-cent fee to be levied on paper bags. It is hoped that the fee will also deter shoppers from using paper bags and go all the way to eco-friendly with reusables. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable grocery bags to carry their purchases home each and every time they go shopping.
Eugene Oregon has tried for many years to go reusable and get an eco-friendly plastic bag ban on the record. With a bag ban in place, then all those plastic bags will not end up in landfills where they will take up space and never break down. Or even worse, they’ll float around as litter and can cause serious harm to animals and their habitats. And the honest truth is thin plastic bags are seldom recycled which highlights the need for the city to go reusable with their grocery shopping bags and any other single-use bags.
Austin, Texas is gearing up to switch to reusable grocery and shopping bags with a ban on both plastic and paper disposable shopping bags that is going into action on March 1, 2013. The ban was approved by the Austin City Council in March of this year. Austin wanted to make sure they got the ban right the first time, so they drafted a law that would fit what the residents wanted. Residents were invited to speak at public forums and the bill was drafted and re-drafted before the final version went to vote.
Shoppers in Solana Beach, California had their first taste of life free from single-use plastic shopping bags, and as would be expected the responses from shoppers ran the gamut. Some shoppers simply packed up their purchases in the reusable grocery bags they purchased while others were irritated that plastic bags were not available and paper bags would set them back 10 cents each. Solana Beach is the first city in San Diego County to ban plastic bags and they are following in the steps of 44 other California cities that have already banned these environmental hazards.
This November when the residents of Snowmass Village in Colorado take to the ballots they will also be polled as to whether they feel the town should regulate disposable plastic shopping bags in an effort to encourage the use of reusable grocery bags. The Town Council recently voted 3-1 to put the advisory question on the ballot to get a feel for what the residents want. Mayor Bill Boineau and Councilwoman Markey Butler have heard from residents both for and against the idea of a ban, so in order to determine what the people want and decide how they should precede they decided to let the residents weigh in and make that call.
When a community rallies behind a bag ban there is no stopping them. The Town Council in Barrington, Rhode Island recently voted to charge the town’s solicitor to draft a disposable plastic shopping bag ban. This decision came on the heels of a recommendation by the town’s Conservation Commission to forbid plastic bags and encourage reusable shopping bags. The Commission’s recommendation also suggested that shoppers should be able to purchase paper bags for 5 cents a pop. As the ban is still in the drafting phase the specifics have yet to be announced, let alone finalized, and may change before the issue goes before the council to vote.
Mamaroneck, New York recently joined the ranks of fellow Westchester County city, Rye, in passing a ban on disposable shopping bags in an effort to go reusable. The Village Board of Trustees in this city 23 miles north of New York City unanimously approved the law that banishes both paper and plastic disposable bags and will go into action on January 16, 2013. The law gained momentum due to the hassles incurred by plastic bags, such as blocking and clogging waterways and sewers, and the negative impact the bags have on the environment when they sit in landfills.
Last we left off with the state of Illinois there was talk of legislation that would prohibit the banning of disposable plastic shopping bags and place the responsibility to recycle plastic bags on the bag manufacturers. 12-year-old Abby Goldberg did not think this bill was a good idea. She was so passionate about working to make sure this bill never became official that she started an online petition asking the Governor, Pat Quinn, to veto the bill, and she collected 155,000 signatures backing her up. This resourceful youth even had the opportunity to hold a press conference and present her petition to Quinn.
The Corvallis Oregon City Council unanimously voted recently to ban disposable plastic shopping bags in retail outlets. This move makes Corvallis, a city of about 54,000 people located 82 miles southwest of Portland and home to Oregon State University, the second city in Oregon to ban single-use plastic bags. Portland was the first city and Eugene is making great strides in their quest to become the third Oregon city to ban disposable plastic shopping bags.
A grassroots movement is underway in the town of Northampton, Massachusetts. The objective is to put an end to Styrofoam take-out containers and disposable plastic bags. GREEN Northampton, a nonprofit, community-driven organization is leading this charge. According to their website, this group’s mission is to foster Northampton’s community bonds and promote environmentally sustainable, low-energy, and healthy lifestyles in response to climate change and resource depletion. GREEN Northampton has many big and impressive goals and ultimately they want to make the world a better place, starting with their city.