Plastic bags are controversial, and that is for different reasons. But, whatever the case may be, is banning them the right solution? In this article, I will try to answer that.
There are many reasons why many call for a ban on plastic bags; in a previous article on this website, I have explained in detail the truth regarding many of the reasons why some want plastic bags to be banned.
In this article, I want to highlight four important reasons why I believe plastic bags should not be banned.
Incorrect biases
The reasons why plastic bags are hated in the first place are many. After a careful review of many of such claims, I found out that many of the reasons why people hate plastic bags are simply bad science and emotional judgments. If the reasons for banning plastic bags are refuted as nonsense, then why not simply reverse the bans?
Bad solutions
There are some viable concerns associated with plastic bags, and these concerns should be addressed adequately. But, in the process of addressing these concerns, we are making even bigger problems and not eliminating what we wanted to in the first place. An example of this is the plastic bag litter problem; not only are plastic bags a small fraction of all litter, but it is also commonsensical to know that the litter crisis is a problem caused by irresponsible human behavior. Instead of focusing on the materials that have a bigger percentage of litter (e.g cigarette butts, etc.), or taking steps to ensure that humans become more responsible with waste, everyone wants to ban plastic bags! How is that supposed to end the litter crisis that we are facing today?
No better alternative
Plastic bags have some disadvantages; but when compared to other solutions, it is hard to see a better alternative to single-use plastic bags.
How do we know this? We have to turn back to LCA (life cycle analysis) studies to identify that. According to the various LCA studies that I have checked, single-use plastic bags have consistently proved to be better for the environment when compared to other suggested alternatives. If that is the case, why ban plastic bags?
Versatility
Even though they are called single-use plastic bags, they don’t have to be. Many people have found other uses for plastic bags. Some use them for dog poop; some use them for packing waste; some use them to line utensils and home appliances; some use them for lining trash cans; many others use them for so many other things that it becomes debatable to call them “single-use plastic bags.” In fact, there are articles online suggesting various ways to reuse plastic bags. An example of such is this article where the author mentioned 45 ways to reuse plastic bags.
Read this article to learn more about some of the claims that have been constantly made against plastic bags.