Why We Shouldn’t Ban Plastic Bags

There’s great unrest among the environment-conscious public around the globe regarding the usage of plastic bags.

In a number of countries, people even protest on the streets and demand a complete ban on plastic shopping bags.

But is it the solution to the problem? No, it’s not!

People generally do not consider the other side of the picture while demanding a ban on the usage of plastic packaging. Banning poly bags might heal the environment to some extent, but the negative impacts it would generate will certainly shake the economy.

Let’s peep into some reasons for why we shouldn’t ban plastic bags.

Reading this article till the end, you’ll be able to understand the importance of poly bags for the consumers, the businesses, and for the economy.

Reasons why we shouldn’t ban plastic bags

1-      Out of all the bags that are currently available in the market, plastic bags are the most convenient for consumers. They are a lot easier to carry than many other shopping bags out there.

 

2-      From a retailer's perspective, the thin plastic bags are the most economical of all. You can order the T-shirt plastic bags in wholesale from Bags Direct USA for as low as $11.05 per case (each case contains 400/450 bags, which means $0.02/bag). While the other types of shopping bags are considerably expensive than this.

 

3-      Due to being cheap, the retailers give these bags to the customers for free, but banning plastic and polypropylene bags would increase the costs incurred by the retailers. This might affect the consumers as they would then have to pay for the bags that would be used in replacement of the poly bags.

 

4-      Another major reason is that plastic manufacturing is a billion-dollar industry employing millions of people around the world. Banning poly bags would cause a rapid increase in unemployment and a sudden agitation would take birth among the unemployed population.

 

5-      The convenience provided by polypropylene cannot be compared with any other material. Polypropylene bags are water and dust resistant, they can be used to store edible item, and they can be used to keep frozen items. Whereas paper bags that are generally considered as their substitute cannot offer such convenience to consumers.

 

6-      Poly bags can be reused once or twice in the household for multiple purposes. Whereas the reusable bags that are proposed to be used in place of plastic bags can give rise to health issues. Especially, reusing the cloth bags in warmer seasons increases bacteria and causes serious health risks.

What’s the solution?

The environmental issue is, however, present, but it is not as severe as portrayed and is not solely due to the plastic bags.

There are other plastic items which turn out to be choking hazards for animals and harm the natural environment. They must be banned instead of banning poly bags; the solid waste is a more severe risk than the poly bags.

The waste is not being broken down before releasing in the sea. Due to which the marine life encounters large solid particles which become a threat to their lives.

Another way to address this issue is to use biodegradable material to produce the bags. Biodegradable plastic is now produced in some European countries which can be decomposed easily and does not pose a threat to the environment.

Therefore, the use of plastic bags can be managed instead of putting a complete ban on them. Curtailing the use of poly bags would raise even bigger problems than the world is currently facing.