In New York, a bill passing a ban will go into effect next month. This ban provides for fines ranging $100-$500 if a company does not comply with it. A five cent tax is also added to paper bags, the only available single use bag, to encourage people to buy reusable ones. This is decided by county and not at a national level, though. A few bags, like pharmaceutical and food grade bags will remain unaffected by this tax. An expert estimates that "by 2050, there will be more plastic by weight in the oceans than fish". Unsurprisingly, consumers don't particularly like the change because they have to pay for paper bags. In the areas where this law is in effect, there is a higher rate of garbage bag purchases, which still puts plastic into the ocean.Read more here.
What is your opinion on the bill?
I think this will help, but not eliminate the problem. Trash bags are still being made and purchased, and cheap reusable bags shed microplastics when washed. Maybe working on a biodegradable trash bag next would help.
If this was in Iowa, how would this affect you?
I might not really be affected at the moment. I'd probably have to spend more money on bags for groceries later. Canvas bags might be a bit of a nuisance to baggers, though.
Do you think legislation like this is a good idea? Why or why not?
I think legislation like this is good. I think the enviroment should be a major government priority. If it isn't, things like the Dust Bowl happen.
Replies
This bill will do good things. Pollution and plastic wastes are huge detriments to our environment and we need to do something to stop it. I think this bill will be the first of many to help solve/ stop plastic pollution and reduce the amount of sea life deaths.
I think that the idea of the bill is good, do I think that the bill would ever go nation wide no. If this was in Iowa I think it would change things a bit. Here we would just see less bags that are blowing along the side of the highway. Peices of legislation like this is a good idea, we need to be a little less dependent on single use products like plastic bags.
I think it could help with a lot of wasted products like bags but there is still many others things that get thrown away and wasted and just thrown out so it wont be that big of an impact. I would not be to happy about this because we tend to use a lot of them to store food or other thing so it would not be the best. I think it is kind of good because it helps a bit with the viroment as you said but like I said before it wont be that big of an impact
I think in the long run this bill will help not only us but all the pollution that gets into the water. We will always have this problem and plastic will somehow work its way to the ocean, but if more and more people buy reusable bags and start using less and less plastic bags, we can help reduce the amount of plastic that goes to the ocean.
I personally hate littering and people who do it with a passion so anything that gets rid of those infernal plastic bags is fine with me. Except for the tax because that just forces people to pay for something that they usually don't have any other choice than to use. I do think it is a very good idea because single use plastic is going to be the death of us as a species
I agree, I think it will help but it wont solve it because there is so much plastic in the world. I agree I think they shoudl work on making biogradable trash bags because then they wont be harmful to the aniamls.I dont think it would affect me because I dont use plastic bags anyway.
i think it is going to be to hard to actauly keep this bill because there are to many bags already out there. if it was in iowa i would be mad becasue plastic bags are so useful for so many things. i think they have a good reason for it but we need them to much to have this bill.
Good job overall but be sure to reply back on three different days.
The bill would help the environment and help the problem with plastic in the ocean. If this was in Iowa it wouldn't affect me at the moment because I'm still just a kid, but in the future I might get annoid on having to buy paper bags or even reusable bags. I think that the legislation would be good because it would help the environment a little bit more.
I think the bill will end up helping the environment, in the long run, I agree that they should start working on biodegradable garbage bags. I don't think a lot of us affected right now. I also think that this legislation is a good idea because it could potentially help the environment.
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