| As part of the conservation and environmental | | | | presented. And this is quite understandable, after all |
| movement worldwide there are several campaigns | | | | their industry could be hit very badly. (This just |
| aimed at banning the plastic bag. These fit in | | | | reminds me that all businesses have a life time curve |
| perfectly with going green at home and with our | | | | that goes from birth, to growth, to maturity and |
| longer term life styles. | | | | finally to demise. The time scale can be as short as a |
| A quick search on the web will take you to the San | | | | year to as long as a hundred years or more, but the |
| Francisco Bay Area, "Bay vs Bag", to the Daily Mail's | | | | end result is that it is replaced by something else). |
| (UK) "Banish the Bags" as well as similar situations in | | | | Some of the arguments are saying that nets and not |
| Canada, Holland, China, elsewhere in the US and even | | | | plastic bags are causing marine life casualties, that |
| Zanzibar. | | | | paper bags are a worse alternative (side stepping the |
| A lot of the focus is based on the damage done to | | | | plastic bag issue) and basically attacking the "plastic |
| wild life, including sea mammals and birds; the effects | | | | bag misinformation campaign". |
| on waste and the average number of bags used per | | | | Very probably both sides are looking to make their |
| person in different countries. In one of the lists I | | | | points by reducing or ridiculing their opponents point |
| saw, Singapore was topping the list at 625 bags. | | | | of view. But the overall issue is still there - are plastic |
| One of the targets is to reduce by 10% the yearly | | | | bags affecting our environment? |
| consumption of these bags. | | | | To get back to the plastic bag banning situation, |
| On the other hand there are also "Save the Plastic | | | | where paper bags have the negative effect of more |
| Bag" campaigns, with the plastic industry behind it. | | | | trees cut, the information that is being retrieved is |
| Their main focus is highlighting what they call | | | | very important. But it must also be as objective as |
| misinformation. Their points are based on | | | | possible. Having said that, we know that it takes |
| "exaggerations" on the damage done to wild life; | | | | literally centuries for plastic to degrade and this should |
| errors in how plastic bags are made (from ethane | | | | be the foremost argument. |
| gas that would otherwise be burnt and not | | | | Just to expand a little on the paper bag argument, |
| petroleum); effects of co2 vs methane; potential job | | | | which is totally reasonable, the option is not to cut |
| losses and so on. | | | | more trees. The options are to recycle and use |
| On the banning side of the argument, there can be | | | | bio-degradable alternatives. |
| exaggerations as well as questionable scientific data - | | | | In the old days, when plastic bags hadn't been |
| questionable as in anybody can question it, after all to | | | | invented but grocery shops had, natural fiber bags |
| have an argument you must always have at least | | | | were used and the customers were the ones who |
| two points of view. | | | | brought their own to the shop. |
| From the "saving" the industry point of view, there | | | | With just a little effort on the individual front, these |
| can be many counter arguments to the data that is | | | | campaigns wouldn't be necessary. |