For the next two parts of the look at shopping bags, we are going to take a look at what we can do to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags and mostly at what has been done already and the effects it has had. Countries and individual provinces and states around the world are taking steps to get rid of disposable shopping bags and setting an excellent example for the rest of the world to follow. Let’s start with what has been done and then we will move into what we can do.
In March of 2002 Ireland became the first country to impose a tax on plastic shopping bags. They called it Plastax and it has made a huge difference in the number of plastic shopping bags people use. It is estimated that there has been a 90% drop in plastic bag consumption and that has resulted in approximately 1 billion less plastic bags being produced. During the first year of the tax being imposed there was 9.6 million dollars raised and that money is going to be used for a green fund created to benefit the environment.
Many other countries and cities around the world have either implemented the same tax or are considering implementing the plastic bag tax. The tax requires consumers to pay about $0.15 per bag. Retailers save money on the plastic bags because they do not need to stock as many and also have the opportunity to make money by selling the re-usable shopping bags as a replacement.
Many companies are now taking advantage of the growing concern about plastic bags by marketing re-usable bags, or in some cases completely biodegradable bags. There is some skepticism as to the effectiveness of some of these bags, but in a choice between the disposable bags that do not break down for many years and the ones that break down in just a couple of months it is obvious which is the better deal. Still if you are really concerned about the environment stick with re-usable shopping bags as they are obviously the best choice of the three. It still takes more energy to create the biodegradable kind because they are still disposable which means more will be consumed.
The province of Ontario is now taking steps towards banning disposable plastic shopping bags. The province consumes about 7 million plastic bags per day. For the mean time the program they are coming up with, in partnership with the Recycling Council of Ontario, will be strictly voluntary, but if the consumption rates are not dramatically decreased they will be looking at stricter measures. Some of the features revealed about the program are store points, or air miles for every customer who uses re-usable bags. It is an incentive program aimed at cutting plastic bag consumption in half by 2012.
Many other areas of the world are coming up with similar ways to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. The city of San Francisco has actually banned the use of plastic shopping bags along with Nepal, where many citizens find the use of these bags in there country offensive. Countries and cities all over Europe, Africa and Asia have made serious steps towards removing plastic shopping bags from use. Consumers are strongly encouraged to stop using plastic shopping bags and in some places they have been made illegally. Unfortunately North and South Americans are lagging behind with policies to stop using plastic bags. It is time for the cities and countries in these areas to take a look at what the rest of the world is doing to combat the use of plastic bags and come up with some solutions of their own.
All of the things we can do as consumers to stop the danger of plastic shopping bags are simple. We can stop using them which is an obvious step. Buy re-usable bags and take them with you when you go shopping. The handles are stronger and you won’t have the hassle of disposing of them when you get home. Find uses for plastic shopping bags that you already have. This will be further investigated in part three of my look at plastic shopping bags. We can also encourage stores and our governments to take further steps in getting rid of disposable shopping bags. Write a letter to you local government branch and let them know how you feel about the subject. If enough of the public show that disposable shopping bags are not acceptable the government will have no choice but to make stronger efforts towards disposing of disposable shopping bags.
