the PLASTIC BAG MYTH

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the Plastic Bag Myth

In Ireland, starting 2002, a plastic bag cost 15 cents. The plastic bags given out by stores immediately decreased 93.5%.

The vast majority of plastic bags end up in landfills.
Isn't that the ultimate in CARBON SEQUESTRATION versus chopping down trees for paper bags? -- reducing the number of trees taking carbon out of the air !

A study showed that both Compostable-plastic and Paper bags require more materials and greater energy, per bag, in the
manufacturing process than standard plastic bags.

The:

	Energy & Materials used in manufacturing and
	Fuel (used in the transportation of the materials & finished product),

for Compostable and Paper bag systems are far MORE than that of the standard Plastic bag system.

The Standard PLASTIC bag:

1. has significantly lower environmental impacts than a 30%-recycled-content-paper-bag

2. manufactures with :

	3.4 times less energy than a Paper bag and
	1.8 times less energy than the Compostable bag.

3. produces:

	one sixth the SOLID WASTE ( by weight) of Paper bags and
	less than one half that of Compostable !

4. emits:

	half the Global Warming potential (CO2 equivalent) of Paper bags and
	one seventh that of Compostable ( because it does not decompose like Paper & Compostable and Compostable emits 5 times more Carbon in production )

5. in manufacturing it uses:

	1/25th WATER than Paper and
	1/17th of Compostable !

Here are how many uses are needed to equal the Environmental Impact of one use of one of the old thin plastic bags:
REUSABLE BAG TYPE	# OF USES NEEDED
New reusable plastic bags at the grocery store (LDPE)	4.2
PET reusable plastic bags	10-11
Non-woven polypropylene fabric bags	11-13
Polyester bags	42
Cotton bag	131
A PET reusable plastic bag is the plastic square kind you can buy at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. A polypropylene bag is the semi-fabric boxlike kind often given out at expos or festivals. Cotton bags are the nice cotton totes you might buy for their cute design or charm. source

ENGLAND 2015: Just 8 cents (5p) on a plastic bag reduced use by 85% (7 billion were used the previous year)
IRELAND: with a tax of 15c per bag, the amount given out in stores is reduced by 93.5% - folks wont be littering with
them at that price -- just putting wet trash in them -- for the garbage and landfill. ( the tax is now 31c).
Carrying them became socially unacceptable — on a par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.
The impact of Plastic bags on litter, the latest figures, 2013, suggest there has been a 20-fold decrease since the levy was introduced in 2002.

If someone's going to buy a bag -- better it be the more environmentally friendly plastic than paper.
In the US we clearly need to tax ALL bags equally -- at over 15c and ban none !

data from a Boustead Consulting & Associates report:

The number of plastic bags handed out in stores was slashed by 80% - the equivalent of 650 million - in the first year, 2015, of Scotland's 5p charge.