Single-use plastic bags create a lot of problems for society, from littering the landscape to choking marine life, jamming recycling equipment and clogging storm drains. Fees and bans on plastic bags work very well for most communities, contrary to Adam Minter’s recent Bloomberg View column (“Ban on single-use plastic bags has unintended environmental consequences,” Aug. 20).
Minter noted that the city of Austin’s ban on single-use plastic bags reduced litter but didn’t change the amount of plastic bag landfill waste. Apparently, many local residents used their heavy-duty reusable plastic bags to throw out their trash instead of reusing them.
What he didn’t say is that over 90 percent of the discarded bags came from one retailer who – with an exemption from the city – sold the heavy-duty reusable bags for 25 cents, while charging $1 for a thin, single-use bag. This created the incentive to use the reusable plastic bags for disposal.
Austin’s experience teaches us the importance of educating consumers about the concept of reusable bags and avoiding perverse incentives. But it does not in any way undermine the prudence of Portland’s 5-cent fee on plastic bags – a move that is also being contemplated by other communities, including Brunswick, where I live, and South Portland.
The differences between Austin’s and Portland’s ordinances are important to note: Austin passed a ban on single-use bags, not a fee; Portland requires residents to use city-issued, pay-by-the-bag trash bags for disposal; and our reusable bags are too expensive to be used for throw-away purposes.
The “garbage patches” of plastic waste in five of the oceans and Maine’s economic reliance on tourism and fishing make reducing plastic waste in the environment a practical thing to do.
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