The Ban on Plastic

Hello Red Door! This post is going to be a little more serious then past posts because this blog will be about the plastic bag ban that will be going into effect. Now if you need some catching up, in 2018 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proposed a plastic bag ban in an effort to aid the environment. About a month ago this was passed by New York State lawmakers and is expected to go into effect next March. This would make New York the second state to have a state wise plastic bag ban; the first being California. Now the public response has been mixed so I researched the pros and cons to this proposal so here we go:

Information from: https://www.factorydirectpromos.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-a-plastic-bag-ban/ and https://www.dumpsters.com/blog/plastic-bag-bans
Pros-
Enhances the economy: This causes an increase in business for reusable bag manufacturers and leads to employment opportunities in that field.
Reduces cost of goods: Stores factor in the cost of disposable bags into their prices. When eliminating plastic bags, stores can lower prices.
Plastic bags are not biodegradable: Plastic bags take 10 to 1,000 year to decompose. When plastics bags do not end up where they are supposed to, they become litter. This leads to polluting oceans, rivers, farmlands, cities, and neighborhoods.
Picking up this litter (previous bullet) costs tax money: This will reduce litter and allow for tax money to be directed to other areas.
Marine life will improve: Marine animals often mistake plastic bags as jellyfish or plankton, leading them to consume the litter and become ill or die.
Drainage infrastructures run more efficiently: If not picked up, plastic bags often clog drainage systems, which causes flooding.
Decrease the mosquito population: (This one I did not think of) “Discarded plastic bags collect rainwater and creates a breeding ground for mosquito’s, some of which could carry the West Nile Virus or Triple E Virus.”

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Con-
Loss for plastic bag manufacturers: Plastic bag manufacturers may have to scale back business, which may lead to layoffs.
Reusable bag production is not eco-friendly: “A study by the Environmental Agency of England showed that a reusable cotton shopping bag must be used 173 times before it’s as environmentally friendly as a plastic shopping bag. Producing the cotton for these bags can generate 300 times the amount of water pollution compared to plastic bag production.”
Upfront cost to shoppers: Plastic bag bans will require shoppers having to purchase reusable bags, which can range from $1 and up. Those without a reusable bag may have to purchase a plastic one for 5 cents each time they shop.

So, whether you are for or against the plastic bag ban, it looks like its going to be put into action. If you need a reusable bag, Wegmans has your back. Tomorrow, April 27, from 11-3 bring a “tightly packed bag full of clean plastic bags to Wegmans” in exchange for a coupon for a free reusable bag. They say that “if every one of their customers used just one reusable bag on each shopping trip, Wegmans would use 357 million fewer plastic bags each year.”
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