Ban Bags From The Bend

It is estimated that at least 4 trillion plastic bags are used each year and it is understandable as to why. Plastic is a highly sterile and inexpensive material to make making it a versatile material for all aspects of everyday life. For all the good that plastic does and the convenience that it provides, there is one huge problem with it that is overlooked: it is made to last a really long time. Most products made from plastic such as water bottles or plastic bags are designed to be used just once and thrown away. The reason behind this comes from the fact that plastic is just a term that we give to hundreds of different materials that all have different properties and to give them those properties, they all need different chemical structures. When you recycle something such as a water bottle, you have to separate all the different types of plastic, clean them, which is a very lengthy and expensive process. The result, is that only 10% of plastic is actually recycled because it is cheaper to take virgin plastic and make a new product from scratch. The other 90% sits in landfills and piles up with no hope of getting rid of it. The two main arguments against plastic bag bans are that plastic bags are not only to blame, and that there are upfront costs and businesses that deal with plastic bags with fall. But just as with many situations, when one door closes, another one opens. Here are the reasons why the ban should be put in place:


1. Plastic bag bans enhance the economy by providing an uptick for reusable bag manufacturers and lead to increased employment opportunities.

2. Eliminating plastic bags reduce costs of goods: Stores have to factor in the cost of disposable bags into their prices. By eliminating plastic bags, stores can lower prices, helping shoppers save $18 to $30 anually. Also, to argue against the upfront costs of reusable bags to consumers, reusable bags normally come in a pack of 5-10 bags and cost at most $25 and sometimes stores will sell them for as little as a dollar. Most reusable bags are more durable than their plastic counterparts and can also be machine washed to keep them sanitary. Not to mention, because of these qualities they can last for years so they are well wroth the cost. Did i metion they are also waterproof? Because they are.

3. 90% of them will end up in landfills hurting harming our drinking water, the air we breathe, and marine and land ecosystems, ultimately contributing to the diseases that plague us today.
4. Banning plastic bags will reduce litter and allow for tax money to be redirected to other areas such as improving infrastructure. I know this one doesn't seem like a big deal, but in the current climate where the government is attempting to build infrastructure with an imbalanced federal budget, any money we can allocate to the community is helpful.

5. Plastic litter clogs draining systems leading to unecessary flooding

6. Banning plastic bags will minimize the dependency on petroleum which is a limited non-renewable resource

7. Plastic bags that are not recycled collect rainwater which attracts mosquitos which carry viruses