Ireland instituted a plastic bag fee called the Plastax in 2002, resulting in a 90% drop in the use of  the “carrier bags” so widely used in Europe. The Italians have recently officially said “arrivederci” to plastic bags, and some parts of the US (such as the area included in Los Angeles County) are following suit. Although the main target at the moment seems to be grocery stores, this is clearly an issue that will extend to all aspects of retailing soon.

The plastic bag bans may or may not extend to biodegradable plastic, which is what our shop’s t-shirt bags are made of (manufactured by Epi-Global, and available through W. G. Ellerkamp, among other vendors).  But the jury is still out as to whether biodegradable plastic, which costs more than the regular kind, is that much better for the environment. (And paper bags, which require wood pulp and water in their production, are not the perfect solution either.)

The type of bags we are uses “oxo-degradable” plastic, which means it degrades in the presence of oxygen and sunlight, thanks to the addition of tiny amounts of metals such as cobalt, iron or manganese.  These bags will ideally destruct in a few years, compared to the 100 years or so that it may take a traditional bag to disintegrate.

There are other biodegradable bags that are made of products such as cornstarch that break down very quickly, and these are well suited to composting and other short-term use.  San Francisco allows this type of bag  because it does not present a threat to aquatic life in the bay.

However according to the web site for Eco-Green bags by Harra Products, “Replacement of normal plastic with degradable and biodegradable bags is not encouraged by governments as part of the planned phase-out, as neither is a solution to plastic bag litter.”

What seems to work better is to encourage consumers to change their behavior by either rewarding them for not taking a bag (we give out gold chocolate coins) or by penalizing them for asking for plastic.  The Irish Plastax does just that, charging the consumer a small fee for each plastic bag and then using the fees collected for environmental causes (approximately $9.6 million was raised from the tax in the first year).

According to UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher, quoted on the ReuseIt.com web site, "I think it’s a cracking good idea."  And I agree!

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder