EU Plastic Bag Debate Highlights a Wider Global Problem

jones_supa writes "An EU citizen uses around 200 plastic bags per year. That's too much, says the EU. But wasting plastic bags is not just a European problem. Countries around the world are struggling with the issue, and it especially affects growing economies such as Asia. Some Southeast Asian countries don't even have the proper infrastructure in place to dispose of the bags properly. The problems for the environment are many. Plastic bags usually take several hundred years until they decay, thereby filling landfills, while animals often mistake the plastic for food and choke to death. Additionally they are a major cause of seaborne pollution, which is a serious hazard for marine life. This autumn, EU started ambitious plans which aim to reduce usage 80% by 2017. Some countries have already applied measures to slow plastic bag use: England has added a 5p charge to previously free bags, and in Ireland the government has already imposed a tax of 22 euro cents ($0.29) per plastic bag. The EU Environment Commissioner, Janez Potonik, said, 'We're taking action to solve a very serious and highly visible environmental problem.'"

Comments

England

[biodata]

In England the government has said that a 5p charge will come in 2015 AFTER THE NEXT ELECTION. Too early to count chickens.

Re:England

[camperdave]

Only problem with keeping them in a car is they tend to be alive.

Actually, that is not a problem. Not only does it affect only the weak and sickly (the ones who aren't going to make it anyway), but it only threatens the tiny percentage of the population who remember to reuse their reusable bags in the first place.

Re:England

[ifiwereasculptor]

Well, I tend to choose plastic bags at the supermarket because later I use them for garbage disposal. AFAIK, that's the norm (and very harmful to the environment, but garbage bags are plastic everywhere, aren't they?).

The cost and use of plastic bags

[Apotekaren]

Ok, so plastic bags in the grocery stores here in Finland have cost somewhere between 15-30 Euro cents for, well forever. I could get a proper cloth grocery bag to reuse, or buy paper bags instead, but I choose not to. Why? I use those plastic bags for my trash!

So if I did go cloth or, heaven forbid, paper, I'd still have to buy plastic bags to put in my trash cans. It doesn't matter if I buy them separately or on a roll, I'm going to keep buying those plastic bags until I come up with a better way to get rid of my trash.

Biodegradable is not enough

[Errol backfiring]

You are right to say compostable. Merely biodegradable usually means that there are a lot of harmful chemicals after the degrading process.

plastic bags in our seas?

[amn108]

Five years ago I was on a beach outside Malaga, Spain, about to take a swim in the sea. Diving under water I suddenly saw hundreds of more or less colored plastic bags floating around at different depths, like jellyfish. The sea was apparently full with those, at least along the coastline, to a degree. Some sort of tide bringing these I guess. Needless to say, the swimming experience was not particularly appealing suddenly and was cut short. It was disgusting. I am not really sure how to fix this problem today, but a price tag on each bag and a penalty for disposing of trash in inappropriate locations in general seem like a start to me.

Re:This issue isn't so black and white

[TheCarp]

> For one thing, it turns out that lots of people do "recycle" those "disposable" plastic bags. When
> Ireland introduced a tax on plastic bags, bin liner purchases increased by 400%.

Bingo! I mean I will admit, i throw away the occasional perfectly good bag but, we use them for all sorts of thing. we even have had a bin just for putting plastic bags in so they could be reused later. Who doesn't reuse them?

Need to carry something that has to be protected from rain? Plastic bag. Need a small trash bag to carry with you while cleaning up? Need a quick "glove" to pick up something nasty? Plastic bags. plastic bag. Or a trash bag...for the car.