The Hidden Environmental Cost of Reusable Bags
In 2014, just 10 years ago, California began its ban on single-use plastic bags to reduce the amount of plastic that would end up in the environment. In their place, stores and shoppers would use reusable bags.
While on paper, this makes a lot of sense, however, this ban has not only not worked but has actually introduced more plastic into the environment as a result. In 2021, California dumped 231,072 tons of plastic from grocery stores, more than when the ban started.
And this problem is not limited to California. Twelve other states also introduced a similar plastic bag ban and ran into the same problem. This raises the question of how a plastic bag ban could end up causing more plastic usage.
Today, we are going to cover why the plastic bag ban failed and how reusable bags contributed to it.
Why Ban Plastic Bags?
For many shoppers, the banning of plastic bags was a very confusing decision as it made the experience more complicated, and in many cases, more expensive for consumers. Yet, it made a lot of sense from an environmental standpoint.
The plastic bags that were used at grocery stores in 2014 were meant for a single use. Although, plenty of people would reuse them as garbage bags for smaller trashcans. After the use, you were supposed to recycle them.
While this might sound like a good practice, the truth is that less than 10% of plastic bags are recycled.
The rest are thrown away and end up in landfills or find their way into the environment, most notably the ocean, because they were improperly discarded. Once in the environment, these bags would negatively affect the wildlife.
For example, many fish would eat the plastic bags. Their stomachs are incapable of breaking down the bags, which would result in the fish thinking it was full. The reality is that the fish would starve to death because its stomach is full of plastic.
As such, a decision was made to ban such bags as a way to prevent this from occurring.
What Are Single-Use Plastics?
Plastic bags are synonymous with single-use plastics. By definition, a single-use plastic is an object that is used one time before it is discarded. While there are many cases of single-use items being reused, it is not the norm.
Plastic bags are such an example as it is very common to use those bags as trash bags for smaller bins at home.
However, there are many instances where that is not the case. Similarly to a plastic bag ban, California has made efforts to limit plastic straw usage. This is through a law that prohibits restaurants from providing a plastic straw unless asked for by the customer.
This has resulted in the infamous rise of paper straws that just don’t work for most consumers. And similarly to the plastic bag ban, many companies ended up moving to even worse alternatives.
For example, Starbucks switched to strawless lids you drink from. They simply replaced a single-use plastic with another one that requires more plastic to create, thus making the problem worse.
The Recyclable Plastic Bag Myth
If you ask plastic bag manufacturers what they think of the ban, naturally, they are against it. Most state something along the lines that a single-use plastic bag is fully recyclable and is the best option for groceries.
And technically, they are correct that plastic bags are recyclable, however, it isn’t as good as it sounds.
The truth is that recycling a plastic bag is actually more expensive than making a new one from scratch. As such, there is no incentive to actually recycle them unless legislation requires it.
On top of this, a recycled plastic bag cannot be reused to create a new plastic bag. Instead, they are transformed into low-grade materials for other products, thus, there really is no way to recycle plastic bags like other goods.
Why Did the Plastic Bag Ban Backfire?
Unfortunately, when the law was written it included a loophole that allowed grocery stores to offer customers thicker plastic bags for a small fee (10 cents). This was included as thicker plastic bags are reusable.
The idea was simple. Shoppers would pay a fee to get these reusable bags, bring them home, and store them for their next visit. The reality was that the average consumer ended up relying on these thicker bags and using them once before discarding them.
This essentially created a more expensive and more environmentally impactful single-use plastic bag.
Naturally, these thicker reusable plastic bags were much more harmful than the traditional bags when they were discarded after a single use. The law would eventually face an even bigger problem in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the lockdown commenced, shoppers were not allowed to bring their own reusable bags as it could risk contamination in the store. This led to a hold on the ban as single-use plastic bags were the safest way to transport groceries during the pandemic.
This was eventually lifted, and the plastic bag ban began to be enforced again throughout the state as lockdown measures ended.
As a result, the law will be rewritten and go into effect on January 1st, 2026, to fix this problem.
What Does the New Plastic Bag Ban Do?
The new law that California has passed in 2024 will close the existing loophole. Meaning that grocery stores will no longer have the option to sell customers thicker plastic bags. Instead, customers will have three options to choose from when they go shopping.
It is important to point out that the reusable bags sold will be the more traditional totes and not thicker plastic bags. These are your freezer bags or bags that are composed of thick fabrics instead of plastic.
The law also has a condition that by 2028, the paper bags that stores offer must be composed of at least 50% recycled material. With these changes in place, the state hopes that the bill will now have the desired effect of lowering plastic pollution.
The bill has been praised by over 70 environmental organizations and is expected to be an example for other states to follow that also introduced a plastic bag ban.
Will Paper Bags Create A Similar Problem?
There is a concern that paper bag waste will simply replace plastic bag waste. While there is some merit to that claim, the impact of paper bags is vastly different than plastic for one simple reason.
A plastic bag takes somewhere between 10-20 years to decompose naturally, during which it will break down into microplastics that end up in every living organism, humans included. Whereas a paper bag takes 2-6 weeks to decompose.
Even more importantly, unlike plastic bags that cannot be recycled into new plastic bags, paper bags can.
This is a big reason why the new law has a mandate to require paper bags to contain at least 50% recycled material. This will create a greater incentive for recycling because producers will be forced to use recycled material during production.
It’s also worth pointing out that many advocates of the bill ultimately want stores to stop offering single-use options of any kind. At the end of the day, single-use products create a tremendous amount of waste.
While plastic is far more damaging to the environment, even paper could become problematic with a large enough amount.
However, the truth is that most consumers simply do not care and want the most convenient option. This is why the original bill’s loophole was so widely used within the state of California.
Why Do Shoppers Not Use Reusable Bags?
One simple question is why are shoppers in California not using reusable bags?
The truth is they are not as convenient as having the store provide them. Think about it for a second, you are in a rush, leave the house and go to the store. You get to the store and realize you don’t have your bags with you.
Your only options are either to drive back home or use what the store has available. As you might have guessed, most choose the latter because it is more convenient. While we can all say that this is bad planning and preparation for the shopper, it does highlight an issue.
Shoppers will always pick the cheapest and easiest path. Our lives have become extremely busy with most households consisting of two incomes. People simply do not have the time or do not want to deal with bringing their own bags.
While this is sad, it is a real problem that needs to be addressed. The simple answer is to just keep reusable bags in your car to avoid the situation from ever happening. But let’s just be honest, people are always going to forget their bags at some point.
Why Plastic Pollution Is a Major Threat to Humanity
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats that face the world. While it may not seem like a big deal for plastic waste to be everywhere, it really is. Here are some of the major reasons plastic pollution threatens the world.
Health Risks for Humans
There are countless studies being conducted to understand the impacts of microplastics on humans. Microplastics are created as plastic naturally degrades and can get dangerously small enough to enter humans without our knowledge.
While the science behind it is not fully understood, a look at workers in the plastic industry shows big problems. Workers in this industry are at an increased risk of leukemia, lymphoma, brain cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, and have decreased fertility.
This is due to the toxic chemicals used to create plastic, and as microplastics break down within humans, those chemicals are released inside of us, and the same effects can be seen. However, the data is still not conclusive.
On average, it is estimated that humans will accumulate over 50,000 particles of plastic throughout their lifetime.
It’s also worth pointing out that while I am focusing on humans, the same is true for animals. And it is far worse for those that live in the ocean where plastic concentration is much higher.
Contaminates Soil, Water, and Air
You may be wondering how exactly humans can accumulate over 50,000 particles of plastic. It’s in the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the water you drink. Microplastics are so small, that they are naked to the human eye and have no taste.
Naturally, the microplastics enter our soil and water supply, which in turn exposes everyone who drinks from the water or eats crops grown in that soil to the carcinogenic chemicals that are released as the plastics continue to degrade.
This is what causes most humans and wildlife to suffer the health consequences we previously discussed.
They also get blown through the wind and end up in our respiratory systems without our knowledge. A terrible example of this would be “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana. The air is thick in gases that are discharged from plastic plants.
Impacts Biodiversity
Plastics have impacted wildlife in very horrifying ways. As I mentioned earlier, fish, sea mammals, and birds often eat plastic objects which fill their stomachs. As a result, they do not eat actual food and starve to death.
This is just one example of the impact plastic has on biodiversity.
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about microplastics, but the truth is that sometimes plastic pieces are quite large. And as they are dumped and transported around the world, some species will take up residence inside of them.
A good example of this is how large pieces of plastic float across the ocean. The Asian Shore Crab would ride these objects to new lands. These crabs compete for food with local crabs causing problems and can be found in America today.
How Can You Help?
The simple answer is to avoid buying and using plastic objects whenever possible.
For example, instead of purchasing bottled water, purchase a reusable water bottle that you can fill up. Not only will this save you money, but it will also help reduce the amount of plastic waste you are exposed to.
For those unaware, a recent study examined a one-liter bottle of water to see how many microplastics were inside of it. The report found an astounding 240,000 microplastics. This is because the examination looks at plastic particles that were measured in nanometers.
When plastic products are unavoidable, be sure to recycle them properly. If you are unsure if something is recyclable, take the time to search for information from the producer and check with your local recycling center to see if they can break down that item.
Another great piece of advice if you cannot avoid plastics is to look for products that use recycled material. This helps create more incentive for recycled material if producers see a rise in sales and need more materials to keep up with demand.
Another approach to take is a much more direct one. Volunteer with local groups to help clean up where you live. Removing loose plastic objects from the land and sea helps create a clean place to live and reduces exposure to chemicals from plastics as they degrade.
By taking these steps, you can help mitigate the damage plastic does to the environment.
