Plastic shopping bags are so thin and flimsy that they wouldn't appear to create an environmental problem. We can ball one up in one hand.
But multiply that one crumpled bag by what may be 1 trillion bags used worldwide each year, and the problem comes into focus. Plastic bags use a lot of petroleum to produce and do not decompose in our landfills. And far too many litter our beaches and waterways where they spoil the view and harm marine life.
Three coastal counties in North Carolina may be joining a worldwide effort to cut back on one-use plastic retail bags. The N.C. Senate has passed a ban on the bags in these counties. If the bill passes the N.C. House and is signed into law, it would serve as a test for the rest of the state.
Around the world, governments are moving against one-use retail plastic bags. Ireland, Taiwan, Australia and many other countries have either banned the bags, heavily taxed them or organized volunteer phaseout efforts.
Plastic bags have been used in American grocery stores for almost 30 years. When introduced, many of us saw them as an environmentally correct alternative to paper bags because they didn't use tree pulp. But it didn't take long for plastic-bag problems to show up.
Paper bags are biodegradable. Plastic bags are not. Paper bags also create fewer litter problems on our roads and waterways.
Retail stores have recycling bins for plastic bags, but few of us use them. If we did, it would spare us many of the plastic-bag problems.
Other efforts are under way to reduce plastic-bag waste. Some grocery chains have stopped using the bags and started granting a small discount to consumers who bring along their own reusable cloth bags. Many consumers are getting into that habit. Stores are selling the reusable bags at very modest prices.
If the House goes along with the Senate on this bill, we will all see the difference when we head to the beach. The change shouldn't be a problem. A paper bag works just as well, but a reusable bag works even better.
Good citizens don't have to wait for the government to act, of course. When asked "Paper or plastic?" we can hold up our own reusable bags. And when we must take a plastic bag, we can return them to the grocery store later for recycling.
So many of the planet's environmental problems seem difficult to fix. This one is not.
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