Viera 1
Lorraine Viera
Professor Hamalian
English 115
8 December 2014
The Actual Cost of Plastic Bags
About five trillion plastic bags are produced yearly and only about one percent of those
bags are recycled. The other ninety-nine percent are found polluting oceans, parks, beaches, and
taking up space in landfills. Plastic bags can take up to a thousand years to decompose and
otherwise remain in our environment. These bags aren’t only costly to our environment, but also
cost taxpayers millions of dollars. A select amount of cities have already taken action and banned
free distribution of plastic bags, thus improving the litter problem. Plastic bags should be banned
worldwide because they are one of the leading causes to pollution from litter due to their
improper disposal.
Plastic bags are produced in enormous numbers and are used all around the world. They
are used extensively because they are easily accessible, lightweight and very convenient. Since
they are used almost everywhere, the result is widespread pollution. An article published by
Targeted News Service states “Single-use plastic bags are one of the most common garbage
items on California's beaches”(Weaver). These particular bags are most commonly distributed at
major grocery stores and markets all across California. The amount of bags used today is one
million per minute. It is very common among customers not only to use one grocery bag for
three or four items, but many customers ask for their items to be double or even triple bagged,
using even more plastic bags and creating more waste.
Viera 2
Most of the waste produced by plastic bags is due to the improper disposal of them.
Improper disposal can mean being tossed to the side of the road or being left out in an open
space. Plastic bags are so lightweight that they easily fly away with the smallest amount of effort,
causing bags to end up in the ocean and along beaches. This is not only polluting the oceans, but
also endangering the animals that live in the bodies of water. In the same article published by
Targeted News Service, it mentions the dangers of the plastic bags for marine life. “They are a
direct threat to ocean wildlife, like the sea turtles that mistake them for edible jellyfish. One in
three leatherback sea turtles have plastic in their stomach, most often a plastic bag, based on a
study of over 370 autopsies”(Weaver). Many animals often mistake bags for food causing them
to choke and in some cases die. This endangers the existence of marine life by putting them in
these hazardous living conditions. According to an article published by AsiaNet Pakistan, it can
take from twenty to one thousand years for a plastic bag to fully decompose and most plastic
bags are only used for an average of about fifteen minutes. Even after a plastic bag has
decomposed it is still harmful to the environment. The chemicals left behind contaminate the soil
and water making them dangerous for animals to consume.
Plastic bags not only negatively impact our environment, but are also economically
draining. It is not common knowledge that it costs taxpayers millions of dollars just to collect
and dispose of plastic bags. Due to the excessive amount of money being funded into programs
to help clean up the environment, many counties have now taken a step towards improving this
pollution problem by banning the free distribution of plastic bags.
There are a number of cities and counties in California including San Francisco, Malibu,
Fairfax and others who have already taken action and banned single-use plastic bags since 2010.
In just the short span of four years there has already been a vast improvement made in the
Viera 3
amount of pollution found. In cities like San Jose, whose ban took effect in 2012, there has
already been up to an eighty-nine percent reduction in litter from plastic bags along the drain
systems and a sixty percent reduction in plastic pollution from their creeks and lakes.
Last year, Los Angeles County took a vote to fully ban plastic bags from large corporate
stores that took effect in January of this year. Resulting in large corporate stores to stop
distribution of plastic bags and instead were to offer paper bags at a ten-cent fee. Alternatively,
stores also offer cloth and reusable bags that can be brought to any store and also hold bigger
amounts of items versus single use plastic bags. This ban affected only large corporate stores
along the county. It has quickly grown and is spreading across California. Recently in the state of
California, Governor Jerry Brown signed a new bill to fully ban plastic bags statewide. Although
this ban was already in effect in one third of California, in the summer of 2015 the ban will be
take effect across the whole state. It will not only affect huge corporate stores such as Wal-Mart
and Target, but in the summer of 2016, it will also impact smaller business and stores.
Although this ban is almost in full effect, there are still those who are opposed to the idea.
The controversy with banning plastic bags and charging for paper bags is that it’s costing more
money to simply buy groceries. For an average family of four, in addition to the amount of
groceries needed weekly, they also have to spend on buying a minimum of five or six paper bags.
Buying paper bags isn’t the only option. Many stores not only sell their own reusable cloth bags
but also offer discounts every time you use one. People also oppose to the idea of having to carry
these bags around with them at all times, but over time, as like anything else, it should soon
become a habit. Another major argument against banning plastic bags is that many people
actually reuse them and recycle them for other purposes. Plastic bags are convenient and
versatile and can be used for a myriad of other reasons. As mentioned before, less than one
Viera 4
percent of the trillions of plastic bags produced are actually recycled, meaning the rest are still
being littered and polluting the earth.
One of the biggest concerns that have come along with the ban of plastic bags is the loss
of jobs of those working in the industry. Vast complaints and opinions have come from the
current employees. There are thousands who currently work in the industry, who are afraid of
losing their jobs. With the banning of plastic bags there is no need for company’s to produce
enormous amounts of bags. Consequently, the companies are losing work and therefore won’t
need all of their employees. However, the government is funding two million dollars for
company’s to start making reusable bags instead of plastic bags, replacing old jobs with new
ones and minimizing the loss of employees. The money being funded to make these changes is a
long-term solution for these companies. Many are still opposed to the idea of banning these bags
and the fee that follows the paper bags, so they are taking a stand. There is currently over a
million dollars being funded into campaigns to reverse this ban. They need a minimum of
500,000 valid signatures to receive a vote on this issue. The deadline to gather all these
signatures is ninety days after the bill was signed. Even if they don’t receive this referendum it
will delay the process of this ban. As a result, plastic bags will still be in use and continue to
damage our planet.
In brief, plastic bags are a huge hazard to our planet and the animals that live on it. Plastic
bags are used for such a short amount of time so they should not last on the environment for
thousands of years. The cost of plastic bags is not only environmentally damaging but also
economically draining. Plastic bags are more damaging to our planet than they are beneficial.
Therefore, plastic bags should be banned world wide because of the huge contribution they are to
pollution on our planet.
Viera 5
Works Cited
Bond, Shannon. "Where Do Plastics Go?" The Big Blue Thread. EPA, 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 7 Dec.
2014.
"LA Mayor Signs Plastic Bag Ban Into Law." Targeted News Service, 26 June 2013. Web. 8 Dec.
2014.
Maqsood, M. "Plastic Pollution." Pakistan Observer, 26 Apr. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Mazza, Sandy. "Supervisors Ban Plastic Bags in Unincorporated County Areas." Daily Breeze.
Media News Group, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Nirappil, Fenit. "First State Bans Plastic Bags: California Driven to Action by Pollution in
Water." Charleston Daily Mail, 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
"Plastic Bag Pollution." N.p., June 2007. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
White, Jeremy B. "Plastics Industry Spends Big to Reverse California's Bag Ban." Sacbee. N.p.,
23 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
Wiltz, Jenni. "Plastic Bag Pollution Facts." Livestrong. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.