Ban the Bag!

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The plastic shopping bag, most of us can admit to receiving them when we head out on our weekly grocery shopping trek, but have you ever noticed that they seem to multiply under your kitchen sink or in your hall closet? Hundreds of crinkly plastic bags that most of us (including me) are guilty of holding on to for reasons we don’t quite understand. Why do we suffer from this neurosis? How do we break free of the plastic shopping bag?

In many countries world wide all with differing environmental track records the plastic shopping bag has been banned outright or retailers have instituted a surcharge for the purchase of plastic bags. Ireland, South Africa, Rwanda, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland as well as selected regions of India are only a few that have joined the cause. It is estimated that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic shopping bags are used worldwide every year. These bags can be reused but most are thrown away or stored after only one use. They can be seen everywhere you go, in the ditches along the sides of any city street, or floating around in plentiful supply at your local dump.

The way I see it we have a few options…
Option #1. Ban the Bag! Cold turkey people no exceptions.
Option #2. Implement a surcharge for the purchase of plastic bags.
Option #3. All of the above.

No matter which way you slice it the amount of plastic bag pollution is horrific. However, there is merit to the notion that consumer behaviour needs to be changed before a difference can really be made. Why not first implement a surcharge of 25 cents for the purchase of each plastic bag. Ireland has implemented this measure to the tune of a more than 90% reduction in the overall use of plastic bags. The introduction of the fee is enough to deter 90% of use in Ireland; can you imagine what kind of a change that would bring about in the USA?

This graduated method would help ease people into the routine of bringing reusable bags to the grocery store or mall with them. Once the surcharge has been implemented with success, I say ban the bag for good! It does take a little bit of getting used to at first and a few extra trips out to the car at first because you have forgotten to bring your cotton or canvas bags into the store with you! Shouldn’t we all be willing to go at least that distance for a healthy environment?!!