Myth: Plastic bags are the most common beach litter.
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Litter will not go away if we continue to target plastic bags that account for only a small fraction of the problem.
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Facts
Ocean Conservancy's Costal Cleanup's 2008 charts indicate that plastic bags account for only 6 percent of the total litter collected in the US by volunteers.
[Review the 2007 report (PDF 8MB)]
[Review the 2008 report (PDF 16.2MB)]
National Marine Debris Monitoring Program report indicates that plastic bags account for approximately 10 percent of the total litter collected. [Review the 2008 report (PDF 5.9MB)]
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Consumer education along with closed-loop recycled packaging solutions can encourage responsible actions to control litter by diverting plastic waste away from litter streams and landfills into useful product solutions.
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Myth: Plastic bags are being banned and taxed all over the country.
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Majority of the states and cities in the US are creating or expanding their recycling programs to encourage plastic bag recycling.
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Plastic bag ban legistlation continues to be overthrown in the CA courts.
Visit "Save The Plastic Bag.com" for the latest updates.
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Scroll down to view more city/state recycling efforts.
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San Francisco, CA - The only city in CA to implement a ban on plastic bags is limited to large grocery stores (retailers and small grocery outlets are excluded). Since the ban's launch, the city reports a rise in the distribution of paper bags that have a much more negative impact on the environment. The premise of the ban to decrease litter and waste has had no affect on litter control.
Palo Alto Online reported, "After San Francisco's rule went into effect...our paper bag usage shot through the roof," Mollie Stone's owner David Bennett said. And paper bags cost 10 times the cost of plastic bags, according to Dan Conway, Safeway's director of state and local government relations.
Manhattan Beach, CA - LA county judge rejects Manhattan Beach council ordinance to ban plastic bags. Second attempt to ban plastic bags is also overthrown by the courts.
Oakland, CA - lost their case against plastic bags. The Alameda Superior Court in California invalidates Oakland's ordinance to ban plastic carryout bags - their ordinance has been revoked based on lack of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). City Council's cursory attempts at gathering misinformation to support their cause continues to be overthrown by the courts.
California - At the state level, recycling is encouraged with AB2449 legistlation that requires grocery stores and retail pharmacies with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space to provide recycling programs for plastic carryout bags.
New York - Adopts similiar recycling law to California.
Seattle, WA - Residents vote down a proposed 20 cent green fee tax on disposable bags. Their communities are outraged with the proposed taxes during a weak economy. Alternative bags are not always suitable for a state that rains most of the year. Consumers want better recycling programs and products made with recycled materials.
Dallas, TX - Voluntary recycling
Austin, TX - Voluntary reduction
Chicago - Enacts recycling program to include retailers with 25 percent or more gross sales that involve food or medicine and with at least 5000 square ft or 5 locations.
Washington D.C. - Adds a 5 cent disposable fee tax on both paper and plastic bags to be collected by the retailer and restaurant from the consumer.
Missouri - Ban considerations rejected - reviewing recycling alternatives.
Colorado - Rejects bans and encourages recycling.
Honolulu, Hawaii - Honolulu's city council rejected Bill 84, which would ban plastic bags in all stores with greater than $1 million in annual revenue. Council members cited constituent opposition and a lack of conviction that a ban was the best option. They also acknowledged that there are problems with the alternatives to plastic bags. The council plans to let the state take the lead on the issue.
Virginia, Rhode Island, Delaware, Arizona, Annapolis, Boston, are all reviewing and pushing recycling programs.
Note: please refer to city and state sites for the most updated ordinances and state laws.
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Myth: Plastic bags are not recyclable and the majority end up in landfills or litter streams.
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Recycling rates of plastic bags continue to rise with public education and demand for recycled plastic bags and other products.
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Unsubstantiated claims created by proponents of plastic bans.
See for yourself how easily a bag can be recycled. Click on the below image to watch our production and recycling process.
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According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, recycling rates for all types of plastic has increased over 30% within the last few years - with an even higher surge in recycled plastic bags. With more grocery and pharmacy chains offering recycling programs, plastic bag reuse and recycling is available for majority of consumers across the US.
Contrary to the popular belief, the total Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) report provided by the US EPA, reveals that plastic bags grouped with films and wraps account for less than 5% of the total solid waste. Paper waste takes up the largest percentage of the landfill mass at 33.9%.
National consumer surveys on plastic bags indicate that over 90% of consumers reuse their plastic bags for multiple uses. ~ Review more recycling facts at the American Chemistry Council
Command Packaging's recycling center easily recycles plastic bags over and over and over again - at 75% less cost compared to recycled paper.
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Myth: 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds are killed by bags.
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Plastic bag ban campaign is based on a misinterpretation of a 1987 Canadian study
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The 1987 Canadian study states that 100,000 marine mammals, including birds were killed by DISCARDED NETS – NOT BAGS.
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Myth: Banning plastic bags will save billions of gallons of oil.
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Plastic bags manufactured in the U.S. are not made from oil, instead they are a derivative (left-over feed/waste from the main product) from natural gas.
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As a derivitative, the elimination of the plastic bags in the US will not save oil, or energy use - the elimination of plastic bags will only increase pollution through water waste, greenhouse gasses and energy waste as San Francisco demonstrated. The city reported increased use of paper and reusable bags that were imported from overseas (the shipping alone caused significant more pollution and green house gasses).
Paper bags generate 70 percent more air, 50 times more water pollutants, 4 times more energy to produce, and takes up 9 times more space in landfills - than plastic bags. ~ US EPA, USA Today.
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