Phase-out Of Lightweight Plastic Bags

A plastic bag ban is a law that restricts the use of lightweight plastic bags at retail establishments. In the early 21st century, there has been a global trend towards the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags, commonly made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic, have traditionally been given for free to customers by stores when purchasing goods: the bags have long been considered a convenient, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources (such as crude oil, gas and coal), difficulties during disposal, and environmental impacts. Concurrently with the reduction in lightweight plastic bags, shops have introduced reusable shopping bags.

Various governments have banned the sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags, or generate taxes from the stores that sell them. The Bangladesh government was the first to do so in 2002, imposing a total ban on lightweight plastic bags. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of public policies intended to phase out plastic carryout bags tripled. As of 2022, such bans have been introduced in 97 countries, with varying degrees of enforcement, and 32 countries instead impose a charge per bag. Bans and charges have also been enacted by some local jurisdictions such as states, counties, territories and cities.

Issues

Plastic bags cause many minor and major ecological and environmental issues. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and subsequently pollute major water sources, rivers, and streams.

Even when disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down, generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. Improperly discarded bags have polluted waterways, clogged sewers and been found in oceans, affecting the ecosystem of marine creatures. Huge volumes of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year, causing threats to marine species and disruption to the marine food chain. Several microbial species colonize on plastic particles enhancing their harmfulness, and plastic particles driven by winds form garbage patches in various parts of the oceans. The UN estimates that there will be more plastics than fish in the oceans by 2050 unless countries comes up with urgent measures to promote efficient production, use and waste management of plastics throughout their life cycles.

Plastic bags have been found to contribute to global warming. After disposed of, if exposed to consistent sunlight the surface of such plastic produces significant amounts of two greenhouse gases – methane and ethylene. Furthermore, due to its low density/high branching properties, it breaks down more easily over time compared to other plastics leading to higher exposed surface areas and accelerated release of gases. Production of these trace gases from virgin plastics exponentially increases with surface area/time, thus LDPE emits greenhouse gases at a more unsustainable rate compared to other plastics. At the end of a 212-day incubation, emissions have been recorded at 5.8 nmol g-1 d-1 of methane, 14.5 nmol g-1 d-1 of ethylene, 3.9 nmol g-1 d-1 of ethane and 9.7 nmol g-1 d-1 of propylene.

Two primary kinds of direct damage to wildlife are entanglement and ingestion. Animals can become entangled and drown. Plastic bags are often ingested by animals that cannot distinguish them from food. As a result, they clog their intestines which results in death by starvation. Plastic bags can block drains, trap birds and kill livestock. The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags. In India, an estimated number of 20 cows die per day as a result of ingesting plastic bags and having their digestive systems clogged by the bags. It is also very common across Africa to have sewers and drain systems clogged by bags which cause severe cases of malaria due to the increased population of mosquitoes that live on the flooded sewers. The term "white pollution" has been coined in China to describe the local and global effects of discarded plastic bags upon the environment.

Lightweight plastic bags are also blown into trees and other plants and can be mistaken for food. Plastic bags break down by polymer degradation but not by biodegradation. As a result, any toxic additives they contain—including flame retardants, antimicrobials, and plasticizers—will be released into the environment. Many of those toxins directly affect the endocrine systems of organisms, which control almost every cell in the body. Research shows the average operating "lifespan" of a plastic bag to be approximately 20 years.

Plastic bags dumped in the Pacific Ocean can end up in the Great Pacific garbage patch. 80% of the plastic waste comes from land; the rest comes from oil platforms and ships. This can be eaten by marine animals, and block their breathing passages and digestive systems. Plastic bags not only add to the Great Pacific garbage patch, they can be washed ashore around the world.

Methods

The two most popular methods of phasing out lightweight plastic bags are charges and bans. The charge strategy is said to have all of the same results in plastic bag reduction as a plastic bag ban, with the additional benefit of creating a new revenue source. The plastic bag charge method also protects consumer choice, which the ban does not.

Recycling of plastic bags can be another method of phase-out. However, only 5% of plastic bags make it to recycling facilities. Even when bags are brought to recycling facilities, they often fly out of these bins or recycling trucks and end up as litter on the streets. Another issue with recycling is that different bags are made from different yet aesthetically similar types of plastics. Bags can be either made of bioplastics or biodegradable plastics, and if accidentally combined in a compost, the bioplastics could contaminate the biodegradable composting. These bags can also jam recycling equipment when mixed with other types of plastic, which can be costly to repair. For example, costs of repairs rounded out to be about $1 million per year in San Jose, California.

Impact

According to a 2018 study in the ''American Economic Journal: Economic Policy'', a five-cent tax on disposable bags reduced disposable bag usage by 40 percentage points. According to a 2019 review of existing studies, levies and taxes led to a 66% reduction in usage in Denmark, more than 90% in Ireland, between 74 and 90% in South Africa, Belgium, Hong Kong, Washington D.C., Santa Barbara, the UK and Portugal, and around 50% in Botswana and China.

A 2019 study in the ''Journal of Environmental Economics and Management'' found that the implementation of a ban on plastic carryout bags in California led to a reduction of 40 million pounds of plastic through the elimination of plastic carryout bags but that Californians purchased 12 million pounds of plastic through trash bag purchases. The study showed that before the introduction of the ban between 12% and 22% of plastic carryout bags were re-used as trash bags.

Criticism

Plastic bag bans can lead to larger black markets in plastic bags. Studies show that plastic bag bans can shift people away from using thin plastic bags, but it can also increase the use of unregulated single use paper bags or unregulated thicker plastic bags in areas where these are provided for free. Further, the bans can drive significant increases in sales of trash bags because people could no longer reuse their old grocery bags for things like lining small trash cans..

The production of some non-plastic bags (e.g. paper, cotton, using virgin plastic such as plastic having thickness of 50 micron) can produce more greenhouse gas emissions than plastic bags, which means that greenhouse gas emissions may increase on net following plastic bag bans. Alternatives to plastic bags would need to be reused over a hundred times to make them more environmentally friendly than plastic bags. They are also viewed as less sanitary than plastic because they can bring germs from outside the store to high contact volume surfaces like carts and check out stands.

Legislation around the world

Summary

Africa

Kenya

Kenya made the first attempt to ban the manufacturing and importation of plastic bags in 2007 and 2011 as a way to protect the environment. The 2007 and 2011 ban targeting plastics below 30 microns failed after manufacturers and retail outlets threatened to pass on the cost of using other materials to consumers. In 2017 the cabinet secretary of Environment and Natural resources, Prof Judy Wakhungu banned the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging under Gazette notice number 2356. On 28 August 2017, Kenya began implementing a countrywide ban of single-use plastic bags. Primary packaging bags, hospital waste bags, and garbage bin liners have been exempted from the ban. The ban has been hailed as one of the most stringent in the world, with fines of up to $40000, or four years in prison.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019, during World Environment Day, further solidified Kenya's efforts to fight plastic pollution and in the sustainable management of waste by banning single-use plastics in protected natural areas. The ban, which came into effect on 5 June 2020, prohibits the use of plastics in National Parks, beaches, forests and conservation areas.

Nigeria

In May 2019, The House of Representatives of Nigeria banned the production, import and usage of plastic bags in the country.

Rwanda

Rwanda's plastic bag ban went into effect in 2008. The Rwandan government has encouraged other countries in their region to ban plastic bags as well, starting in 2011.

Somalia

Plastic bags were banned in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland on 1 March 2005 after a 120-day grace period that the government had given to the public to get rid of their stocks. The Ministry of Trade and Industries announced the cabinet decision in a decree titled: "Banning importation, production and use of plastic bags in the country". The bags had been nicknamed "the Hargeysa flower", as many of them ended up being blown around and getting stuck in trees and shrubs, posing a danger to livestock because the animals that feed on the leaves often ingest the bags accidentally. In 2015 the ban was repeated by Presidential Decree No. #JSL/M/XERM/249-3178/042015, again providing for a 120 days grace period to get rid of stocks. To ensure the implementation of the ban, the government constituted enforcement teams in 2016 to conduct special drives which launch probes into business stalls. At least 1000 men and women in uniform deployed into the main markets and shopping malls. The government announced fines against violators who continue selling plastic bags in the country.

South Africa

Plastic bags were a major concern in South Africa before the bag levy was introduced in 2004. The bags were never banned, but a levy was introduced, payable by the plastic bag manufacturer. The thicker plastic bags are levied and although this move initially caused outrage with consumers and an initial decline in volumes, consumers use has continually increased to several billion plastic shopping bags every year.

Tanzania

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar banned plastic bags in 2005. Tanzania introduced plans to implement a nationwide ban on plastic bags in 2006. However, its ratification had been delayed for more than ten years. The ban finally came into effect on 1 June 2019.

Tunisia

Tunisia introduced a ban on plastic bag distribution in supermarkets starting from 1 March 2017. An agreement was signed between the Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment and large supermarket chains in the country to enact the first phase of a process aiming to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. Tunisian activists are planning awareness campaigns to establish greener policies in the country.

Uganda

Uganda introduced legislation in 2007 to ban the sale of lightweight plastic bags under 30 µm thick and tax thicker bags at a punitive rate of 120%. Although the laws came into effect in September of that year, they have not been enforced and have failed to measurably reduce the use of plastic bags. The law is not well enforced.

Asia

Bangladesh

A strict ban was introduced in Bangladesh in 2002 after floods caused by littered plastic bags submerged two-thirds of the country in water between 1988 and 1998. Plastic bags remain a big problem for sewerage system and waterways.

Cambodia

Cambodia passed legislation to impose a plastic bag tax in October 2017. Supermarkets now charge customers 400 Riels (10 US cents) per plastic bag should they need one.

China

A total plastic bag ban on ultra thin plastic bags and a fee on plastic bags was introduced in China on 1 June 2008. This came into effect because of the problems with sewerage and general waste. One 2009 survey suggests that plastic bag use fell between 60 and 80% in Chinese supermarkets, and 40 billion fewer bags were used. However, first hand accounts clearly indicate, the ban has seen limited success, and that the use of plastic bags remains prevalent. Street vendors and smaller stores, which make up a significant portion of retail in China, do not abide by the policy in part due to difficulties of enforcing the ban.

The term "white pollution" (, less often "white garbage" ) appears to be local to China and later to South Asia, enjoying far less use and recognition outside of the region. It refers to the color of white plastic shopping bags, styrofoam containers, and other light-colored materials that began turning up in visible volume in agricultural fields, the landscape, and waterways in the mid- to late 1990's. The first references to the term "white pollution" appear in official language at least as early as 1999, when the first bans were imposed by the State Council.

= Hong Kong

=
Hong Kong forbids retailers from giving plastic bags under a certain thickness and for free. A 50 cent plastic bag levy was implemented on 1 April 2015 across Hong Kong. The use of plastic bags dropped 90% after the introduction of the levy. Signs show that Hong Kong is phasing out the use of plastic bags at a dramatic rate.

India

In 2002, India banned the production of plastic bags below 20 µm in thickness to prevent plastic bags from clogging of the municipal drainage systems and to prevent the cows of India ingesting plastic bags as they confuse it for food. However, enforcement remains a problem.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has also passed regulation to ban all polythene bags less than 50 microns on 18 March 2016. Due to poor implementation of this regulation, regional authorities (states and municipal corporations), have had to implement their own regulation.

In 2016, Sikkim, India's first fully organic state, banned the use of not only packaged drinking water bottles in any government meetings or functions but also food containers made from polystyrene foam all over the state.

Himachal Pradesh was the first state to ban plastic bags less than 30 µm. The Karnataka state became first state to ban all forms of plastic carry bags, plastic banners, plastic buntings, flex, plastic flags, plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic spoons, cling films and plastic sheets for spreading on dining tables irrespective of thickness including the above items made of thermacol and plastic which uses plastic micro beads.
The state of Goa has banned bags up to 40 µm thick, while the city of Mumbai bans bags below a minimum thickness to 50 µm.

The state Government of Maharashtra banned plastic starting 23 June 2018. The state Government of Tamil Nadu also banned plastic starting 1 January 2019.

Indonesia

From 2016, the Environment Ministry obliged retailers in 23 cities across the archipelago (mini-markets, hypermarkets, and supermarkets) to charge consumers between Rp.200 and Rp.5,000 for each plastic bag, including degradable plastic bags. Money raised by the tax are used as public funds for waste management alongside non-governmental organizations.

The island of Bali banned single-use plastic bags, straws, and styrofoam, effective July 2019. Other major cities, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang and Bogor

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