Plastic bag ban
A plastic bag ban or charge is a law that restricts the use of lightweight plastic bags at retail establishments. In the early 21st century, there has been a global trend towards the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags, commonly made from low-density polyethylene plastic, have traditionally been given for free to customers by stores when purchasing goods: the bags have long been considered a convenient, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Lightweight plastic carrier bags include all carrier bags with a wall thickness below 50 microns and are not biodegradable. Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources, difficulties during disposal, and environmental impacts. Concurrently with the reduction in lightweight plastic bags, shops have introduced reusable shopping bags.
Various governments have banned the sale of lightweight bags, have taxed manufacturers for the production of lightweight bags, or charged the sale of lightweight plastic bags in stores, placing the tax burden on consumers. The Bangladesh government of Begum Khaleda Zia was the first to do so in 2002, imposing a total ban on lightweight plastic bags. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of public policies intended to phase out plastic carryout bags tripled. As of 2024, regulations have been introduced in 127 countries, with 27 countries implementing bans on the sale to consumers and 30 countries implementing charges on the sale to consumers.
File:Payatas-Dumpsite Manila Philippines02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Plastic waste on the mounds of garbage in the Philippines
Issues
Plastic bags cause many minor and major ecological and environmental issues. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and subsequently pollute major water sources, rivers, and streams.Even when disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down, generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. Improperly discarded bags have polluted waterways, clogged sewers and been found in oceans, affecting the ecosystem of marine creatures. Huge volumes of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year, causing threats to marine species and disruption to the marine food chain. Several microbial species colonize on plastic particles enhancing their harmfulness, and plastic particles driven by winds form garbage patches in various parts of the oceans. The UN estimates that there will be more plastics than fish in the oceans by 2050 unless countries comes up with urgent measures to promote efficient production, use and waste management of plastics throughout their life cycles.
Plastic bags have been found to contribute to global warming. After disposed of, if exposed to consistent sunlight the surface of such plastic produces significant amounts of two greenhouse gases – methane and ethylene. Furthermore, due to its low density/high branching properties, it breaks down more easily over time compared to other plastics leading to higher exposed surface areas and accelerated release of gases. Production of these trace gases from virgin plastics exponentially increases with surface area/time, thus low-density polyethylene emits greenhouse gases at a more unsustainable rate compared to other plastics. At the end of a 212-day incubation, emissions have been recorded at 5.8 nanomoles per gram per day of methane, 14.5 nmol⋅g−1⋅d−1 of ethylene, 3.9 nmol⋅g−1⋅d−1 of ethane and 9.7 nmol⋅g−1⋅d−1 of propylene.
Two primary kinds of direct damage to wildlife are entanglement and ingestion. Animals can become entangled and drown. Plastic bags are often ingested by animals that cannot distinguish them from food. As a result, they clog their intestines which results in death by starvation. Plastic bags can block drains, trap birds and kill livestock. The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags. In India, an estimated number of 20 cows die per day as a result of ingesting plastic bags and having their digestive systems clogged by the bags. It is also very common across Africa to have sewers and drain systems clogged by bags which cause severe cases of malaria due to the increased population of mosquitoes that live on the flooded sewers. The term "white pollution" has been coined in China to describe the local and global effects of discarded plastic bags upon the environment.
Lightweight plastic bags are also blown into trees and other plants and can be mistaken for food. Plastic bags break down by polymer degradation but not by biodegradation. As a result, any toxic additives they contain—including flame retardants, antimicrobials, and plasticizers—will be released into the environment. Many of those toxins directly affect the endocrine systems of organisms, which control almost every cell in the body. Research shows the average operating "lifespan" of a plastic bag to be approximately 20 years.
Plastic bags dumped in the Pacific Ocean can end up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 80% of the plastic waste comes from land; the rest comes from oil platforms and ships. This can be eaten by marine animals, and block their breathing passages and digestive systems. Plastic bags not only add to the Great Pacific garbage patch, they can be washed ashore around the world.
Methods
The two most popular methods of phasing out lightweight plastic bags are charges and bans, but there are a number of methods which have been found effective.Lightweight plastic charges
Lightweight plastic charges include all taxes, levies, and fees placed on the sale of single use plastic bags to consumers. As of 2018, 30 countries charge consumers when they purchase lightweight carrier bags. The charge strategy has all the same results in plastic bag reduction as a plastic bag ban, with the additional benefit of creating a new revenue source. The plastic bag charge method also protects consumer choice, which the ban does not.Lightweight plastic bags
Lightweight plastic bans constitute strict bans on the sale and distribution of single use plastic bags to consumers by retailers. As of 2018, 27 countries had completely banned the sale of plastic lightweight carrier bags. The ban strategy, while being the most effective and direct approach to reduce consumption of single-use plastic bags, increases the consumption of non-banned bags, plastic carriers slightly thicker than the lightweight bags which are still disposed of by consumers. In this way, bans decrease lightweight bag consumption, but increase other plastic carrier consumption and pollution.Taxing and regulating manufacturers
Many countries have decided to tax manufacturers and distributors of lightweight plastic bags, instead of placing the responsibility upon consumers. As of 2018, 27 countries taxed the manufacturing and production of plastic bags while 63 countries placed mandates for extended producer responsibility for single-use plastic. Extended producer responsibility means that producers carry the burden of responsibility even after the consumer purchases their products, meaning on a practical level that producers are required to help pay and support programs that properly recycle these bags or that producers are encouraged to change the design of their bags. This is the only method of regulation that places the burden on producers, instead of consumers.Recycling
Recycling of plastic bags can be another method of phase-out. However, only 5% of plastic bags make it to recycling facilities. Even when bags are brought to recycling facilities, they often fly out of these bins or recycling trucks and end up as litter on the streets. Another issue with recycling is that different bags are made from different yet aesthetically similar types of plastics. Bags can be either made of bioplastics or biodegradable plastics, and if accidentally combined in a compost, the bioplastics could contaminate the biodegradable composting. These bags can also jam recycling equipment when mixed with other types of plastic, which can be costly to repair. For example, costs of repairs rounded out to be about $1 million per year in San Jose, California.Impact
Across the world, plastic bag regulation has worked to decrease lightweight plastic bag usage rates, with usage rates after lightweight plastic charges best demonstrating this point.According to a 2018 study in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, a five-cent tax on disposable bags reduced disposable bag usage by 40 percentage points. According to a 2019 review of existing studies, levies and taxes led to a 66% reduction in usage in Denmark, between 74 and 90% in South Africa, Belgium, Hong Kong, Washington D.C., Santa Barbara, the UK, and around 50% in Botswana and China.
In Ireland, the introduction of a €0.15 levy on plastic bags in 2002 led to a 90% reduction in usage within weeks, with the policy receiving widespread public support. Similarly, Portugal's 2015 plastic bag tax resulted in significant decreases in consumption, as consumers adapted by using reusable bags. Between 2010 and 2014 after a city-wide ban, there was a 50% decrease in the presence of single-use plastic bag Seattle's residential waste, despite the city's population growing by 10%.
In Kenya, a 2017 ban on plastic bags received favorable support from approximately 67% of consumers, who reported increased use of reusable bags and perceived improvements in cleanliness and waste management. Conversely, in Sweden, the repeal of a tax on single-use plastic bags in 2024 raised concerns about potential increases in plastic consumption, despite the tax's prior success in reducing usage by 75% between 2020 and 2021.
Some studies highlight unintended consequences. In California, a statewide ban on thin plastic bags led to an increase in the purchase of thicker, unregulated plastic bags, offsetting some environmental benefits. Additionally, the ban's loophole allowing the sale of thicker plastic bags for a fee resulted in increased plastic waste, as these bags were often not reused as intended.
While plastic bag regulations can lead to substantial reductions in usage, the overall environmental impact depends on policy design, enforcement, and consumer behavior.