In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Links: NYC’s plastic bag recycling legislation
Background: San Francisco bans plastic bags and the ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ accessory
Reactions: Whole Foods versus NYC’s small supermarkets
Analysis: Are biodegradable bags viable?
Related Topics: Marks & Spencer charges for plastic bags and oceanic life suffers from plastic waste
Reference Material: Plastic bag consumption figures
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NYC Weighs Plastic Bag Recycling Program
by
findingDulcinea Staff
New York City Council puts forward legislation mandating that large grocery stores recycle plastic bags, putting the city at the forefront of a growing movement to curb the harmful environmental effects of petroleum-based plastics.
30-Second Summary
The bill, proposed by City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Councilman Peter F. Vallone Jr., would require stores larger than 5,000 square feet to recycle plastic bags and sell reusable bags to customers.
Although supporters of the legislation—including President Bush’s niece Lauren Bush and the Whole Foods grocery chain—tout this as an important development in environmental responsibility, its opponents say it could hurt small businesses.
If passed, the bill would put New York among a number of countries, states and cities that have already moved to limit the harmful environmental effects of plastic waste.
California has similar recycling legislation in place, and the Rhode Island government is collaborating with grocers to collect and recycle plastic bags as well.
Ireland reduced its consumption of bags by 90 percent after enacting a tax on them in 2001, and Bhutan, Bangladesh and the city of San Francisco have banned petroleum-based plastic bags altogether.
The adverse environmental effects of plastic bags are manifold. Not only can the standard, petroleum-based bag take nearly 100 years to decompose, but their near ubiquity has contributed to a glut of oceanic plastic waste: there is a mass of trash twice the size of Texas floating between San Francisco and Hawaii.
In addition, it takes nearly 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture the 100 billion plastic bags consumed yearly in the United States.
Although supporters of the legislation—including President Bush’s niece Lauren Bush and the Whole Foods grocery chain—tout this as an important development in environmental responsibility, its opponents say it could hurt small businesses.
If passed, the bill would put New York among a number of countries, states and cities that have already moved to limit the harmful environmental effects of plastic waste.
California has similar recycling legislation in place, and the Rhode Island government is collaborating with grocers to collect and recycle plastic bags as well.
Ireland reduced its consumption of bags by 90 percent after enacting a tax on them in 2001, and Bhutan, Bangladesh and the city of San Francisco have banned petroleum-based plastic bags altogether.
The adverse environmental effects of plastic bags are manifold. Not only can the standard, petroleum-based bag take nearly 100 years to decompose, but their near ubiquity has contributed to a glut of oceanic plastic waste: there is a mass of trash twice the size of Texas floating between San Francisco and Hawaii.
In addition, it takes nearly 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture the 100 billion plastic bags consumed yearly in the United States.
Headline Links: NYC’s plastic bag recycling legislation
According to The New York Times, plastic bags were first introduced to U.S. consumers in 1977, and now account for 90 percent of all grocery bags used. In order to reduce their prevalence, New York City’s bill would require that each plastic bag display the following message: “PLEASE RETURN THIS BAG TO A PARTICIPATING STORE FOR RECYCLING.”
Eric A. Goldstein, urban program co-director of the Natural Resource Defense Council, is quoted in the council’s press release as supporting the new legislation: “This is legislation that makes environmental and economic sense for New York … Plastic bags, which are made from non-renewable petroleum resources, are used for a matter of hours before they are discarded. But they create environmental burdens that last for hundreds of years.” The full press release is available as a PDF file from the New York City Council’s Web site.
Source: The Web site of the New York City Council
Background: San Francisco bans plastic bags and the ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ accessory
On March 27, 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to prohibit the use of petroleum-based plastic checkout bags in large markets and pharmacies. The legislation gives markets the choice of using either compostable bags made of corn starch or bags made of recyclable paper.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
In March 2007, fashion designer Anya Hindmarch took up the anti-plastic bag cause by marketing a canvas tote bag displaying the slogan “I’m Not a Plastic Bag.” Initially released in the United Kingdom, the accessory quickly became the “it-bag” of the season after Whole Foods stores in Los Angeles and New York began selling them in limited numbers.
Source: Gothamist
Reactions: Whole Foods versus NYC’s small supermarkets
The New York City Council’s proposed plastic bag recycling program has gotten high-profile endorsements from President Bush’s niece and grocery superstore Whole Foods. Appearing in front of a Whole Foods store in Manhattan, Lauren Bush told reporters that plastic waste is a “a bipartisan issue and I think it's important that us individuals do what we can to help the environment.” Whole Foods regional president, Christina Minardi, also backed the program, telling reporters that businesses must take a role in environmental protection.
Source: The New York Sun
The Neighborhood Retail Alliance, a lobbying group for small businesses in New York City, responded to Whole Foods’ announcement by arguing that the large retail store can absorb the additional costs of the legislation more easily than small supermarkets: “So the company that makes a fortune selling arugula, and can spread hundreds of thousands of dollars around to encourage upscale consumers to recycle, is now an exemplar for small supermarkets in the South Bronx where 99 percent of the customers have never heard of arugula, and where if you tried to sell the stuff at Whole Foods prices you'd be out of business in a week.”
Source: The Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog
Analysis: Are biodegradable bags viable?
Musing on the prospect of biodegradable bags becoming the new corner-store standard, Brendan I. Koerner of Slate writes that “they're still nowhere cheap enough for the local Piggly Wiggly. Standard polyethylene bags cost retailers around 2 cents each, while paper bags might be a penny or two more expensive. But so-called bioplastic bags, made from natural starches or oils, cost in the neighborhood of 7 or 8 cents … But bioplastic bags are closing the gap, in part because people are coming to realize that the two reigning supermarket favorites are far from green. Polyethylene, for starters, is made from fossil fuels—it takes roughly 12 million barrels of oil a year to satisfy America's plastic-bag jones.”
Source: Slate
Related Topics: Marks & Spencer charges for plastic bags and oceanic life suffers from plastic waste
On November 6, 2007, iconic UK supermarket Marks & Spencer announced that it would begin charging for its plastic grocery bags. The decision follows a successful trial of the policy in the company’s Northern Ireland stores, which led to a 66 percent reduction in the number of plastic bags used by customers. The M&S move is modeled on the Republic of Ireland’s plastic bag tax, which has resulted in a 90 percent cut in the use of plastic bags there.
Source: The Guardian
There is a soupy mass of plastic trash twice the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Hawaii. Oceanographers call it the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and estimates put the flotsam’s weight at around 3.5 million tons—80 percent of which consists of plastics. The patch has been growing tenfold every decade since the 1950s. Marcus Eriksen, the director of research and education at the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, CA, told the San Francisco Chronicle that cleaning up the Garbage Patch is not an option: “With the winds blowing in and the currents in the gyre going circular, it's the perfect environment for trapping … There's nothing we can do about it now, except do no more harm.”
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Charles Moore, a marine researcher at the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the garbage patch is undetectable by overhead satellite photos because most of it moves beneath the surface of the water. The garbage collects in an area called the North Pacific Gyre, the result of converging currents and a counterclockwise trade wind that circulates along the Pacific Rim.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
An article in the Nov. 15 issue of the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology suggests that a combination of waste plastic in the ocean and a sediment-eating marine mammal called a lugworm may lead to increased concentrations of toxic substances in the food supply. The study indicates that as plastic waste disintegrates in seawater, its particles bind with a common contaminant—linked with cancers and respiratory problems—called phenanthrene. These particles then mix with sediment, which is in turn eaten by the lugworm. According to the study, the lugworm’s low place in the food chain makes it likely that the concentrated phenanthrene would then make its way into the food supply.
Source: New Scientist
The report, titled “Potential for Plastics to Transport Hydrophobic Contaminants,” was conducted by the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. It used mathematical probabilities to predict how the combination of plastic particles and phenanthrene may affect the toxin’s accumulation in marine mammals such as lugworms. The full report is available from the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology Web site.
Source: Environmental Science & Technology
Reference Material: Plastic bag consumption figures
According to the Web site Reusablebags.com, it is estimated that the world consumes between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags every year, which add up to over 1 million bags per minute. The site goes on to quote an Environmental Protection Agency figure that estimates the United States consumes over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps each year.
Source: ReusableBags.com
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